Increased red cell distribution width in patients with slow coronary flow

Authors' comments on: Higher red cell distribution width in patients with slow coronary flow

“…We agree with authors' comment on the potential impacts of different pathophysiological backgrounds, such as inflammatory status, on RDW (1). The data in our study showed a positive correlation between RDW and plasma C-reactive protein levels, which could be indirect evidence that RDW is influenced by a variety of inflammatory diseases.…”

“…With regard to the time that we used to measure the RDW levels in our study, we appreciate the authors' scientific comments on our manuscript and agree with the authors' point that delaying blood sampling can cause abnormal results in RDW measurement (1). We determined the RDW levels within one hour after the blood samples were collected from all of the patients.…”

“…We would like to thank sincerely Balta et al (1) for their positive comments and kind interest concerning our original research article that was recently published in Clinics (2). As indicated in the authors' comments, red cell distribution width (RDW) is a measurement of the size variation in red blood cells, as well as an index of the heterogeneity of the circulating erythrocytes, which is commonly utilized in the differential diagnosis of underlying anemia (3).…”

“…Based on the observations reported, we previously hypothesized that an inflammatory process was involved in the development of slow coronary flow (7). We are aware that RDW alone, without any other inflammatory indicators, cannot provide clinicians with sufficient information about the inflammatory status and prognostic indications of patients with slow coronary flow, as the authors indicated (1). Nevertheless, RDW is an easy, inexpensive, and routinely reported test, the assessment of which might allow for the acquisition of significant diagnostic and prognostic information in patients with cardiovascular disorders (3).…”