Monocyte Distribution Width (MDW) as an Early Investigational Marker for the Diagnosis of Sepsis in an Emergency Department of a Tertiary Care Hospital in North India

Background Sepsis is an emergency state in response to an infectious process ultimately leading to multiorgan dysfunction and death. There is an urgent need for sepsis detection methods, especially in emergency settings. To fill this gap, monocyte distribution width (MDW) was studied as an early indicator of sepsis. Aim To evaluate MDW as an early marker of sepsis. Material and methods This was a prospective observational study including critically ill adult patients who presented to the emergency department. MDW was measured using a DxH 900 Hematology Analyser (Beckman Coulter Inc., Miami, FL). Abnormal MDW (>20.0) was considered a predictor of sepsis. Results A total of 148 patients were included and categorized according to the Sepsis-2 and Sepsis-3 criteria, as having sepsis (25.6%), sepsis with shock (21.6%), and non-sepsis (52.8%). In patients with sepsis with and without shock, MDW was 28.28 ± 9.20 and 28.02 ± 9.01, respectively, significantly higher than in patients without sepsis (p < 0.001). The diagnostic accuracy value of MDW testing for early sepsis detection was highly significant (0.74, p < 0.000). Conclusion MDW can be used as a marker for the early prediction of sepsis.