Roberts G T, El Badawi S B
Am J Clin Pathol. 1985 Feb;83(2):222-6. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/83.2.222.
The red blood cell distribution width index (RDW) was determined in a group of anemic male patients and normal male blood donors. Elevated mean RDW values were found in the anemic patients, with the highest value seen in sickle cell anemia, sickle cell-beta thalassemia, sickle cell trait, beta-thalassemia trait, and iron deficiency in decreasing order of magnitude. The mean RDW of the normal male subjects was 11.3. It was found that the RDW was proportional to the reticulocyte count, with the highest values in the patients with the highest reticulocyte count (sickle cell anemia). One clinical value of the RDW therefore may lie in its capacity for reflecting active erythropoiesis. For example, patients with normal or near-normal hemoglobin and with high RDWs may be suspected of having an elevated reticulocyte count that may indicate a hemoglobinopathy, such as sickle cell trait or thalassemia trait.
对一组贫血男性患者和正常男性献血者测定了红细胞分布宽度指数（RDW）。贫血患者的平均RDW值升高，其中镰状细胞贫血、镰状细胞-β地中海贫血、镰状细胞性状、β地中海贫血性状和缺铁患者的RDW值依次递减，其中镰状细胞贫血患者的RDW值最高。正常男性受试者的平均RDW为11.3。研究发现，RDW与网织红细胞计数成正比，网织红细胞计数最高的患者（镰状细胞贫血）的RDW值也最高。因此，RDW的一个临床价值可能在于其反映活跃红细胞生成的能力。例如，血红蛋白正常或接近正常但RDW较高的患者可能被怀疑网织红细胞计数升高，这可能提示存在血红蛋白病，如镰状细胞性状或地中海贫血性状。
