Prognostic role of hemoglobin-to-RDW ratio for clinical outcomes in traumatic brain injury patients admitted to the intensive care unit: a retrospective analysis.

PURPOSE: The hemoglobin-to-red cell distribution width ratio (HRR) has emerged as a potential biomarker in various clinical contexts, but its role in Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The records of adult patients with traffic-related TBI admitted to the ICU of a Level-I Trauma Center in Taiwan between 2016 and 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Included patients had a Head and Neck Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) score ≥ 3. The primary outcomes were in-hospital mortality and prolonged hospital length of stay (LOS). Using the median HRR value of 1.057 as the cutoff, patients were categorized into the low HRR group and high HRR group. RESULTS: A total of 105 patients were included in the analysis. Patients in the low HRR group were older, more likely to be female, and had a higher prevalence of diabetes. After adjusting for clinical variables, In the dichotomized analysis, the high HRR group had significantly lower odds of prolonged hospital LOS than the low HRR group after adjustment. CONCLUSIONS: A higher HRR was independently associated with a lower likelihood of prolonged hospital stay among patients with TBI admitted to the ICU. However, HRR was not significantly associated with in-hospital mortality after adjustment.