Mean Platelet Volume in Patients with Chronic Venous Insufficiency

Abstract

Objective: the mean platelet volume (MPV) is a good indicator of platelet activity; it is reported to increase in diseases associated with inflammatory processes and in vascular diseases. This study investigated the importance of mean platelet volume in patients with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) and whether the MPV was likely to be a predictor of the CVI.

Methods: 117 patients who were diagnosed as CVI by colored Doppler Ultrasound (CDU) method and 49 healthy volunteers (forming the control group) were en­rolled to this study, which was planned retrospectively. The patients’ blood count values taken within one month before and after the CDU evaluation were recorded by the hospital information system. The complete blood count, routine biochemical tests and thyroid function tests of the patients diagnosed with CVI were compared to the control group.

Results: Significant differences were not detected be­tween the patients and the control group in terms of the levels of creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycer­ides, erythrocyte, sedimentation speed, leukocyte, hae­moglobin and thrombocyte (p>0.05). The thyroid stimulat­ing hormone and the MPV levels were significantly lower in the control group (p<0.05).

Conclusion: MPV levels as an easy, cheap and practi­cal data extracted from complete blood count, were found higher in patients diagnosed with CVI compared to the control group. This may be originated from endothelium changes as an answer to venous hypertension and dila­tation in CVI. MPV can be used as a follow-up marker in CVI patients.