Platelet count and platelet indices in women with preeclampsia

BACKGROUND Although the exact pathophysiology of preeclampsia is not completely understood, the utility of different platelets indices can be utilized to predict preeclampsia. OBJECTIVE To compare platelet indices, namely platelet count (PC), mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), and PC to MPV ratio in women with preeclampsia compared with healthy controls. SETTING Qassim Hospital, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. DESIGN A case-control study. Sixty preeclamptic women were the cases and an equal number of healthy pregnant women were the controls. RESULTS There was no significant difference in age, parity, and body mass index between the study groups. Sixteen and 44 of the cases were severe and mild preeclampsia, respectively. There was no significant difference in PDW and MPV between the preeclamptic and control women. Both PC and PC to MPV ratios were significantly lower in the women with preeclampsia compared with the controls. There was no significant difference in the PC, PDW, MPV, and PC to MPV ratio when women with mild and severe preeclampsia were compared. Using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, the PC cutoff was 248.0×103/µL for diagnosis of pre-eclampsia (P=0.019; the area under the ROC curve was 62.4%). Binary regression suggests that women with PC <248.010×103/µL were at higher risk of preeclampsia (odds ratio =2.2, 95% confidence interval =1.08-4.6, P=0.03). The PC/MPV cutoff was 31.2 for diagnosis of preeclampsia (P=0.035, the area under the ROC curve was 62.2%). CONCLUSION PC <248.010×103/µL and PC to MPV ratio 31.2 are valid predictors of preeclampsia.