A Study of Platelet Indices in Acute Myocardial Infarction: An Observational Study.

Abstract

Back ground: Platelets play an important role in the pathophysiology of Coronary Artery Disease(CAD). Naive platelets are larger in size and have more reactivity than older platelets. So the platelet indices including Mean Platelet Volume(MPV), Plateletcrit(Pct), and Platelet Distribution Width(PDW) may emerge a marker of CAD. The aim of the study is to study the role of platelet indices in patient with Acute Coronary Syndrome(ACS) and to see whether increase in platelet indices is associated with increased risk of ACS. Materials and methods: In thepresent study 60 patients who presented to NIMS with Acute Coronary Syndromes(ACS) including Acute STEMI, NSTEMI were included. Platelet indices including Mean Platelet Volume(MPV), Platelet Distribution Width(PDW) and Platelet Crit(Pct) were calculated in all these patients at the time of admission through automated analysers. These parameters were compared with 60 age and sex matched controls. Results: The mean age of the study population is 56.3 years. In patients with ACS the mean platelet count was 2.35 lakhs, the mean MPV was 11.56fl, the mean Pct is 0.221%, and mean PDW is 17.342. In the control population the mean MPV,PDW and Pct were 10.5fl,0.144% and 15.214. In our study MPV did not show any statistically significant difference in patients with ACS. On the other hand there was a significant difference in Pct& PDW in patients with ACS. Patients with ACS have higher values of Pct and PDW when compared to age matched controls. (p=0.0001). Conclusion: : Larger platelets are haemostatically more active and are a risk factor for developing coronary thrombosis and subsequent acute coronary event(Acute STEMI/NSTEMI). Platelets with higher Pct and PDW were at higher risk of ACS. These patients can easily be identified during routine hematological analysis and could possibly benefit from preventive treatment.