Association of Red Cell Index and Hospital Mortality in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit: A Retrospective Cohort Study

PURPOSE: This study aims to explore the association between red cell index (RCI) and hospital mortality in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients in the intensive care unit. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort research. The study included 821 COPD patients. Clinical data from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV) database was conducted. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to assess the correlation between RCI and in-hospital mortality. Age, SOFA score, diabetes mellitus, cerebrovascular disease, congestive heart failure and mechanical ventilation were considered for subgroup analysis. RESULTS: This study comprised 821 patients, of which 16.5% (124/821) suffered hospital mortality. In the multivariate logistic regression model, RCI was positively associated with hospital mortality, each unit increase in RCI was associated with a 3% increase in hospital mortality (odds ratio [OR] =1.03; 95% confidence interval [95CI%] =1.01–1.06). Meanwhile, compare with the lowest RCI group, the highest RCI groups tended to have higher risks of hospital mortality (OR [95% CI] 2.33 [1.27–4.27]). Additionally, subgroup analysis result was persistent among all the groups. CONCLUSION: Higher RCI was positively associated with a higher risk of mortality in critically ill patients with COPD. Further investigation is necessary to confirm these findings.