Preeclampsia: are platelet count and indices useful for its prognostic?

INTRODUCTION: Preeclampsia (PE) is characterized by hypertension and proteinuria after the 20th week gestation. The aim of this study was to investigate whether platelet count (PC) and platelet indices (mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), and plateletcrit (PCT)) could predict severe form of preeclampsia (sPE).

METHODS: Three groups were evaluated; G1-pregnant with sPE (N = 29); G2-normotensive pregnant (N = 28) and Group 3: non-pregnant women (N = 30). Platelet parameters were obtained using the same automatic blood cells count. Statistical analysis was performed by analysis of variance, t-test, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. P ≤ 0.05 was considered significant.

RESULTS: Lower PC and PCT were observed in sPE comparing to normal pregnant (P = 0.031 and 0.035, respectively) and to non-pregnant women (P < 0.001 and 0.004, respectively). PDW was higher in sPE comparing to normotensive pregnant (P = 0.028) and to non-pregnant women (P < 0.001). MPV was higher in sPE comparing to normotensive pregnant and non-pregnant women (P = 0.05 and P < 0.001, respectively). Analysis from the ROC curve and its areas for each variable showed that the parameters have regular diagnostic significance, except for PCT, considered as not good for this purpose.

CONCLUSION: PC emerges as a good candidate for sPE diagnosis, since it is a simple and habitually done method, with lower cost and greater accessibility in the clinical laboratory. Further studies evaluating sequential PC and platelet indices throughout pregnancy are necessary to clarify the role of platelet parameters in PE development and severity.