Red cell distribution width as predictive marker in CHF: Testing of model performance by reclassification methods

摘要

In the last 10 years, there has been growing interest in the relationship between chronic heart failure (CHF) and anemia. Low blood hemoglobin content has been reported to be highly prevalent and to be associated with poor outcome in CHF [1,2]. The red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is a measure of the variation and an index of the heterogeneity of red blood cell (RBC) volume. Since the time of the original description of RDW as a novel prognostic marker in chronic heart failure [3] at least 5 studies (including our current study with 1-year survival data) confirmed this observation in CHF with various follow-up periods [4-8].