Background: Trauma is the leading cause of death in young adults. Risk stratification in patients with trauma remains challenging. There is a need for a readily available prognostic method to categorise these patients.
Aims & Objectives: We aim to measure and correlate red cell distribution width and total leucocyte count in patients presenting with trauma within 24 hours of injury with the outcome.
Methods: We included 52 trauma patients who were admitted in RLJH from November 2019 to April 2020, who did not require emergency surgery and analysed prospectively. Complete blood picture within 24 hours of injury was analysed and outcome measured in terms of length of hospital stay.
Results: There was a statistically significant correlation found between TLC and Length of hospital stay (p<0.001). The correlation between RDW and Length of hospital stay was not statistically significant. The analysis showed that increased hospital stay was associated with high TLC and RDW% done within 24 hours of injury.
Conclusion: TLC and RDW can be used as readily available and simple markers in early prediction of higher morbidity in patients presenting with trauma.