Red Cell Distribution Width Has a Predictable Value for Differentiation of Provoked and Unprovoked Venous Thromboembolism

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is generally classified as provoked or unprovoked. This dichotomy is important for following patients, mortality rate, prognosis and whether more efficient therapy is needed. In VTE patients, during initial diagnosis, it is not known exactly whether red cell distribution width (RDW) have a predictable value for this differentiation and pathogenesis. In this study, 298 patients with VTE and 197 control subjects were included. Patients with VTE were defined as provoked or unprovoked with respect to physical examination findings and laboratory values. Changes in RDW were tested between VTE patients and control subjects, provoked and unprovoked VTE patients, and separately with control subjects. RDW was found to be high in provoked and unprovoked groups compared with control group (p < 0.001, p = 0.003 respectively). RDW was significantly high in provoked VTE patients group compared with unprovoked patients (p < 0.001) and a cut-off value was found to be 13.6 %. In ROC analysis, sensitivity was 90.19 % and specificity was 82 % (95 % CI 85.4-93. 8 % and 95 % CI 72.3-89. 6 % respectively). RDW could be used as a simple, costeffective and a reliable test independent of age in differentiation of provoked and unprovoked VTE. In order to better understand its role, prospective large homogenized population studies in different regions are necessary.