What is Red blood cell distribution width (RDW)

The RDW blood test is a quantitative analysis of variance in red blood cells (RBC) width where RDW stands for red blood cell distribution width or RCDW. It is also apart of the complete blood count (CBC) test. If the test shows high results, it implies that the person may be suffering from iron deficiency or may be having anemia. RDW test results are mostly used along with the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) to determine if one is suffering from anemia. The red blood cells size are in the range of 6-8μm for a normal person. Any variation in this suggests that the person is suffering from disorders. The normal range for RDW results is 11 to 15%, variations from this implies that there is something wrong. When the results suggest anemia, on conducting further investigation the exact cause can be found. In such scenarios, the practitioner suggests corpuscular volume test.
 

RDW Blood Test