Background: Dengue is an endemic disease in tropical and subtropical regions of the world causing severe epidemic in India and is endemic in many parts of India, especially in metropolitan cities and towns. There are evidences which states that platelet parameters may have diagnostic and prognostic value in febrile thrombocytopenia including Platelet count, Mean platelet volume (MPV), Platelet distribution width (PDW), Plateletcrit (PCT). These parameters are obtained as a part of Complete Blood Count using Automated Hematology analyzers.
Aim and Objectives: of this prospective study is 1) To evaluate the role platelet parameters in Dengue fever and also to determine the relationship of platelet parameters with platelet count and disease severity. 2) to assess the utility of platelet profile in patients with Dengue fever and understand its significance so that adverse outcomes of this rapidly spreading disease can be controlled to a greater extent.
Material and Methods: This study was conducted on 133 confirmed cases of Dengue infected patients for a period of 9 months from April 2022 to December 2022. The Platelet parameters like Platelet count, MPV, PDW and Plateletcrit were measured by using BC 300 plus Mindray Automated Hematology Analyzer on venous samples collected in K3EDTA from 133 patients and was compared with disease severity (DF/DHF/DSS) . These 133 patients were grouped into three according to platelet count (<20000, 20000-100000, >100000).
Results: Out of 133 patients, 17 patients who had platelet count <20000, the Mean MPV, PDW and PCT was 9.2 fl, 17.3 fl and 0.03% respectively, 86 patients who had platelet count between 20000-100000 the mean MPV, PDW and PCT was 12.2fl, 16.6fl and 0.1% respectively, 30 patients who had platelet count more than 1 Lakh, the mean MPV, PDW and PCT was13.7fl, 13.8 fl and 0.1% respectively which showed statistically significant difference between the groups (p value 0.003).
Conclusion: The study focuses on the importance of platelet parameters in patients with Dengue infection. Significant differences were observed in MPV, PDW and PCT in patients with dengue infection. Low platelet count, low MPV, high PDW and low PCT shows sensitivity for DF thus reflecting a predictive marker for diagnosing DF in endemic area.
