Dose-Response Relationship between Red Blood Cell Distribution Width and In-Hospital Mortality in Oldest Old Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke

INTRODUCTION: It is crucial to identify predictors of mortality in the early stage of acute ischemic stroke for the oldest old (aged ≥80 years) because of their poor overall survival outcomes. However, limited data are available as the oldest old have often been excluded from previous clinical studies. Hence, we aimed to assess the predictive effect of red blood cell distribution width on in-hospital mortality and the dose-response relationship between the red blood cell distribution width and in-hospital mortality in oldest old with acute ischemic stroke. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was performed in two tertiary hospitals. Patients aged ≥80 years admitted due to acute ischemic stroke from January 1, 2014, to January 31, 2020, were included in the study. We divided the eligible patients into 3 groups with tertiles of red blood cell distribution width. Restrictive cubic spline and robust locally weighted regression analysis were performed to test the dose-response relationship between red blood cell distribution width and the in-hospital mortality risk. All-cause in-hospital mortality was the main study outcome. RESULTS: Overall, 606 patients were included in the final analysis. Red blood cell distribution width was categorized into 3 groups (T1: <13.7%, T2: 13.8–15.7%, and T3: >15.7%). The rationality of this categorization was then validated with restricted cubic spline and robust locally regression smoothing scatterplot, respectively. After adjusting for demographic and clinical features, a higher red blood cell distribution width was independently associated with in-hospital mortality and the hazard ratio (HR) was 3.31 (95% CI 2.47–4.45, p < 0.001). There was a positive dose-response relationship between red blood cell distribution width and mortality risk. Sensitivity analysis identified no conspicuous change in the HR. CONCLUSIONS: Red blood cell distribution width may be a valuable and simple measure for predicting in-hospital mortality in oldest old patients with acute ischemic stroke.