Red Cell Distribution Width as a Predictor for Post-Operative Atrial Fibrillation after Open Heart Surgeries

Abstract Background Post operative Atrial Fibrillation is the most common type of arrythemia after open heart surgeries with incidence 30- 50%, in this study we investigated the relationship between RDW and the prediction of post operative atrial fibrillation, the eligiable patients were 76 patients, the duration of study was 2 months of data collection, patients were included according to the inclusion criteria mentioned earlier. Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of RDW preoperatively as predictor of incidence of post operative atrial fibrillation (POAF) in patients undergoing open heart surgeries. Patients and Methods Type of Study: Prospective observational study. Study Setting: To be conducted in Ain Shams University Hospitals cardiothoracic ICU unit on a postoperative patients with open heart surgeries after applying exclusion criteria. Results In our study of the risk factors for prediction of Atrial fibrillation, we found that COPD patients carry higher risk for POAF in comparison to non COPD patients with a p value Conclusion POAF remains one of the most challenging post operative complications after cardiac surgeries. Pre operative identification and classifications of high risk patients can contribute in decreasing the post operative morbidity and mortality after cardiac surgeries. The interpretation of CBC findings including RDW value along with the results of our study augment the valuable use of RDW as a novel biomarker for prediction of POAF. Other Inflammatory markers needs to be investigated to detect it’s reliability for prediction of POAF after cardiac surgeries and the interventions that can be taken to decrease the incidence of POAF after cardiac surgeries which includes the usage of anti –oxidants which needs further investigations and research.