Value of Pre- and Post-Treatment Platelet Indices in Patients with Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura

Introduction: Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is an acquired disorder characterized by isolated thrombocytopenia. There is no “gold standard” test that can establish the diagnosis of primary ITP. Therefore, the diagnosis is one of exclusion and is based on patient history, physical examination, complete blood count, and blood smear review. Platelet indices are biomarkers of platelet activation, allowing extensive investigations focusing on the diagnostic and prognostic values in various diseases without extra-costs. Mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW) and plateletcrit (PCT) were investigated aiming at evaluating the correlation between pre- and post-treatment values in ITP patients. The sensitivity and specificity of platelet indices for assessment of their predictive value for treatment response were also evaluated. Methods: Fifty newly diagnosed primary ITP patients were selected from the Hematology Clinics of Ain Shams University Hospitals and classified into pediatric and adult groups. Platelet count, MPV, PDW, PCT have been recorded for all pre and post-treatment CBC samples using Beckman Coulter LH750 analyzer. Results: In pediatrics post-treatment MPV and PDW were significantly decreased while PCT was increased when compared to their values at the time of presentation (P Conclusion: Increased pre-treatment MPV and PDW, and decreased PCT can provide diagnostic and predictive value for treatment response in ITP patients.