New Hematological Biomarker for Early Diagnosis of Sepsis
Sepsis is one of the leading causes of mortality and healthcare expenditure worldwide. Early diagnosis and treatment of septic conditions improve patient prognosis. However, the initial symptoms of sepsis can be difficult to distinguish from other acute conditions due to similar symptomatology. The results of the study presented below indicate that a new hematological biomarker has the potential to facilitate the early diagnosis of sepsis.
Limits of Early Sepsis Detection
The vast majority of sepsis cases (> 85%) are already present at the time of patient admission to the medical facility, with deterioration from a non-severe to life-threatening sepsis occurring very rapidly. In the acute care environment, however, it can be difficult to distinguish sepsis from an acute condition due to a non-infectious cause because of similar symptomatology.
The issue of early sepsis diagnosis is currently one of the most discussed topics in professional circles. The detection of early septic states involves the application of clinical criteria for systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) or alternatively the assessment of early signs of organ failure using the qSOFA score (quick Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment). However, the clinical presentation of sepsis is variable and the sensitivity and predictive value of scoring systems are thus very broad.
With the rapidly developing field of in vitro diagnostics, the number of biomarkers used for early sepsis diagnosis is increasing. One of them is the assessment of monocyte distribution width (MDW) using DxH 800 series hematology analyzers by Beckman Coulter.
The aim of the cited study was to evaluate whether the determination of the MDW parameter, in conjunction with other clinical parameters, increases the likelihood of early diagnosis.
Methodology and Results of the Analysis
Data from 2158 patients aged 18–89 from emergency departments of three major academic centers in the United States were included in the retrospective analysis. A total of 358 patients met the
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