Normal range of bleeding time in urban and rural areas of Borujerd, west of Iran

BACKGROUND Bleeding time (BT) is the oldest and simplest test for assessing the platelets (Plts) function. BT can affect by several factors such as race and diet, which has a wide reference range. The aim of this project is to determine the normal range of BT in Borujerd, Iran. Determining the normal range of BT can help us to modify the definition of bleeding disorder and aspirin resistance. METHODS This was cross-sectional study carried out in 2011-2012. Subjects with a history of coagulation disorders or a positive family history of coagulation disorders, consumption of anti-Plts, anti-histamines, and phenothiazine in the previous month and subject with Plt less than 150,000 were excluded. The samples were 505 volunteers who were referred from 16 urban and 9 rural clusters to research center. BT of the samples was determined according to Ivy simplate method considering national standard protocol in the selected persons. Normal range was calculated as mean ± 2 standard deviation. RESULTS Of 505 volunteers, 50.4% were female. The range of BT was 2.8-2.95 min with mean of 2.79 ± 0.78 min. Range and mean of BT in women was 2.83-3.06 min and 2.88 ± 0.87 min, and range and mean of BT in men was 2.7-2.9 min and 2.69 ± 0.67 min; this difference was significant (P = 0.012). BT in urban and rural participants was 2.78 ± 0.79 and 2.77 ± 0.73 min. There was no significant difference between BT in urban and rural participants. CONCLUSION The normal range of BT in Boroujerd was in the lower limit of the normal universal range. In this study, BT was significantly different in both genders, but its correlation with age, blood group, and place of residency was not significant.