The original data for analysis.

ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate the correlation between red cell distribution width (RDW) and overall mortality in adults diagnosed with osteomyelitis.MethodsIn this retrospective study, we examined data from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV) database, comprising 2,700 patients with osteomyelitis and available RDW data on the initial day of admission. Employing Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, we assessed the incidence rate of primary outcome events among groups categorized by RDW levels (Q1: RDW ≤ 13.5, Q2: 13.5 ResultsOver the 90-day follow-up, 10.7% of patients with osteomyelitis succumbed. Unadjusted RDW correlated significantly with in-hospital, 30-day, and 90-day mortality (p p-values: 0.254 to 0.920).ConclusionsThe noteworthy link between RDW and heightened all-cause mortality in patients with osteomyelitis who were hospitalized in the intensive care unit highlights RDW’s potential as a valuable marker for identifying at-risk individuals during hospitalization.