The Role of Monocyte Distribution Width in the Early Prediction of Sepsis in Patients Undergoing Cardiovascular Surgery: A Cross-Sectional Study.

This is the first study to examine the role of monocyte distribution width (MDW) in predicting sepsis after cardiovascular surgery. This study included 43 consecutive patients who had undergone cardiovascular surgery between July 2021 and July 2022. All patients were examined at the following three time points (TPs): preoperative period (TP1), postoperative at 24 h (TP2), and discharge (TP3). SOFA score, leukocyte count, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), MDW, C-reactive protein (CRP), and procalcitonin (PCT) levels were tested at each TPs. The Sepsis-3 criteria were used to diagnose patients with sepsis. The mean values of all variables (leukocyte count, NLR, MDW, CRP, and PCT levels) were significantly higher at TP2 and TP3 than at TP1 ( < 0.05). All these values were significantly higher at TP2 than at TP3 ( < 0.05). Patients with sepsis had significantly higher mean values for leukocyte count, NLR, MDW, CRP, and PCT levels than those without sepsis ( < 0.05). There was a significant correlation between MDW and inflammatory markers (CRP, PCT, and NLR) during the three time periods ( < 0.05). According to the ROC analysis, the optimal MDW cutoff value with the highest sensitivity and specificity for predicting sepsis in the postoperative period was 20.5. Our findings indicate that elevated MDW levels may be a valuable predictor of sepsis in patients following cardiovascular surgery.