Biomaterial Database

Evaluation of erythrocyte disorders with mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and red cell distribution width (RDW). 1987

C M Monzon, and B D Beaver, and T D Dillon

Department of Child Health, University of Missouri, Columbia 65212.

The red cell distribution width (RDW), which provides a quantitative measure of heterogeneity of red cells in the peripheral blood, and the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) are part of the routine red cell indices reported by automated blood analyses. This study evaluated 193 pediatric patients with a wide range of erythrocyte disorders and determined the diagnostic utility of the RDW in relation to the MCV. Six different groups of erythrocyte disorders by MCV and RDW values are described: low MCV/normal RDW, low MCV/high RDW, normal MCV/normal RDW, normal MCV/high RDW, high MCV/normal RDW, high MCV/high RDW. This combination established a useful differential diagnosis of erythrocyte disorders. The data provided a baseline against which future studies of infants and children can be compared, though each laboratory has to verify its own normals. It should be cautioned that different electronic counters yield different RDW values, so there have to be qualifications when reporting reference values. The RDW may find its best use as a guide in the differential diagnosis of anemia, rather than as a definitive test per se.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D007231	Infant, Newborn	An infant during the first 28 days after birth.	Neonate,Newborns,Infants, Newborn,Neonates,Newborn,Newborn Infant,Newborn Infants
D008297	Male		Males
D012016	Reference Values	The range or frequency distribution of a measurement in a population (of organisms, organs or things) that has not been selected for the presence of disease or abnormality.	Normal Range,Normal Values,Reference Ranges,Normal Ranges,Normal Value,Range, Normal,Range, Reference,Ranges, Normal,Ranges, Reference,Reference Range,Reference Value,Value, Normal,Value, Reference,Values, Normal,Values, Reference
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D002675	Child, Preschool	A child between the ages of 2 and 5.	Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D003937	Diagnosis, Differential	Determination of which one of two or more diseases or conditions a patient is suffering from by systematically comparing and contrasting results of diagnostic measures.	Diagnoses, Differential,Differential Diagnoses,Differential Diagnosis
D004899	Erythroblastosis, Fetal	A condition characterized by the abnormal presence of ERYTHROBLASTS in the circulation of the FETUS or NEWBORNS. It is a disorder due to BLOOD GROUP INCOMPATIBILITY, such as the maternal alloimmunization by fetal antigen RH FACTORS leading to HEMOLYSIS of ERYTHROCYTES, hemolytic anemia (ANEMIA, HEMOLYTIC), general edema (HYDROPS FETALIS), and SEVERE JAUNDICE IN NEWBORN.	Hemolytic Disease of Newborn,Erythroblastosis Fetalis,Erythroblastoses, Fetal,Erythroblastosis Fetali,Fetal Erythroblastoses,Fetal Erythroblastosis,Fetali, Erythroblastosis,Fetalis, Erythroblastosis,Newborn Hemolytic Disease,Newborn Hemolytic Diseases
D004906	Erythrocyte Count	The number of RED BLOOD CELLS per unit volume in a sample of venous BLOOD.	Blood Cell Count, Red,Erythrocyte Number,Red Blood Cell Count,Count, Erythrocyte,Counts, Erythrocyte,Erythrocyte Counts,Erythrocyte Numbers
D004909	Erythrocyte Indices	ERYTHROCYTE size and HEMOGLOBIN content or concentration, usually derived from ERYTHROCYTE COUNT; BLOOD hemoglobin concentration; and HEMATOCRIT. The indices include the mean corpuscular volume (MCV), the mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), and the mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC).	Erythrocyte Hemoglobin, Mean Cell,Erythrocyte Size Determination,Erythrocyte Volume, Mean Cell,Hemoglobin, Erythrocyte, Mean Cell,Mean Corpuscular Volume,Red Cell Indices,Erythrocyte Diameter,Erythrocyte Index,Erythrocyte Indexes,Erythrocyte Thickness,Mean Cell Hemoglobin Concentration,Mean Cell Volume,Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin,Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobulin Concentration,Red Cell Distribution Width,Red Cell Index,Red Cell Indexes,Cell Volumes, Mean,Corpuscular Volumes, Mean,Determination, Erythrocyte Size,Determinations, Erythrocyte Size,Diameter, Erythrocyte,Diameters, Erythrocyte,Erythrocyte Diameters,Erythrocyte Size Determinations,Hemoglobin, Mean Corpuscular,Hemoglobins, Mean Corpuscular,Index, Erythrocyte,Index, Red Cell,Indexes, Erythrocyte,Indexes, Red Cell,Indices, Erythrocyte,Indices, Red Cell,Mean Cell Volumes,Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobins,Mean Corpuscular Volumes,Size Determination, Erythrocyte,Size Determinations, Erythrocyte,Thickness, Erythrocyte,Volume, Mean Cell,Volume, Mean Corpuscular,Volumes, Mean Cell,Volumes, Mean Corpuscular