Abstract
Abstract only Introduction: Elevated red cell distribution width (RDW) has been established as a predictive biomarker in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH). Its value in predicting readmission rates in PH is not fully understood. Methods: PH patients were retrospectively identified between 1/1/2016 and 12/31/2017 and divided into normal (11.5-14.5%) and elevated (>14.5%) RDW. The primary outcome was 90-day readmission related to heart failure (HF) exacerbation, increased supplemental oxygen (O2) requirements, and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Kaplan Meier survival curves were developed for the probability of primary outcomes-related readmissions. Results: Index admissions (n=74) had 78.38% elevated RDW (n=58) and 21.62% normal RDW (n=16). Age, sex, race and comorbidities were matched between the 2 cohorts (Figure 1). Of these, 70.3% (n=52) had readmissions in 90-days; 67.2% (n=39) with elevated RDW and 81.2% (n=13) with normal RDW. Log-rank p for 90-day readmission probability for HF exacerbation, increased O2 requirement and SIRS were statistically non-significant 0.945, 0.0931, and 0.351 respectively (Figure 2). Conclusions: Our findings do not support RDW alone as a predictive biomarker for readmission in patients with PH, albeit in a small sample size. This study could be viewed as a hypothesis-generating research to spawn further larger studies.