Red cell distribution width: a novel predictor of mortality in critically ill patients

We have read with great interest the recently published article titled “Red cell distribution width is associated with hospital mortality in unselected critically ill patients” by Zhang et al. (1). In that very well-presented article, the authors aimed to investigate the role of red cell distribution width (RDW) in prediction hospital mortality in critically ill patients. They concluded that RDW measured on ICU entry is an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality in critically ill patients and higher RDW was associated with longer length of ICU stay, and the change of RDW in a short interval provided no additional prognostic value in critically patients. We would like to thank Zhang et al. (1) for their comprehensive contribution.