MDW as a Biomarker of Sepsis

Sepsis is a life-threatening syndrome caused by dysregulated host response to infection and remains a major global health challenge with high healthcare burden. Early recognition is critical for improving outcomes, yet current diagnostic tools and conventional biomarkers such as C-reactive protein and procalcitonin have important limitations related to kinetics, specificity, and cost. This review examines Monocyte Distribution Width (MDW), a novel hematologic parameter derived from routine complete blood count analysis, as an emerging biomarker for early sepsis detection and prognostic assessment. MDW reflects monocyte morphological heterogeneity associated with innate immune activation and rises early in the inflammatory cascade, often at the time of initial clinical presentation. Evidence from emergency department and intensive care unit studies demonstrates that MDW provides high sensitivity and negative predictive value for early sepsis screening and performs comparably to or better than established biomarkers, particularly when integrated with clinical scoring systems and other laboratory indices. Beyond diagnosis, elevated MDW correlates with disease severity, organ dysfunction, and adverse outcomes, suggesting prognostic utility. Although promising, current evidence is limited by heterogeneity and the need for standardized cut-off values and multicenter validation. Overall, MDW represents a rapid, cost-effective adjunct that may enhance multimodal sepsis assessment and clinical decision-making.