Abstract:Objective To study the clinical value of red blood cell distribution width (RDW) in the early prediction of acute kidney injury (AKI) in children with sepsis.Methods A total of 126 children with sepsis were divided into an AKI group (n=66) and a non-AKI group (n=60) according to the presence or absence of AKI. These patients were also classifed into high-RDW and low-RDW groups according to the mean RDW. The groups were compared in terms of age, male-to-female ratio, body mass index (BMI), Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation Ⅱ (APACHE Ⅱ) score, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cr), uric acid (UA), serum C-reactive protein (CRP), and routine blood test results. Independent factors associated with RDW were analyzed by multiple linear regression.Results Age, male-to-female ratio, BMI, CRP, SOFA score, and APACHE Ⅱ score did not differ signifcantly between the AKI and non-AKI groups (P > 0.05), but the AKI group had signifcantly higher BUN, Cr, UA, and RDW levels than the non-AKI group (P < 0.05). Age, male-to-female ratio, and BMI did not differ signifcantly between the high-RDW and low-RDW groups (P > 0.05), but the high-RDW group had signifcantly higher BUN, Cr, UA, CRP, SOFA score, APACHE Ⅱ score, Hb, and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) than the lowRDW group (P < 0.05). The multiple linear regression analysis showed that age, sex, APACHE Ⅱ score, Cr, Hb, and MCV were independent factors associated with RDW.Conclusions RDW has a certain clinical value in the early prediction of AKI in children with sepsis.