The relationship between platelet indices and clinical features of coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: Platelets play a key role in the development and progression of cardiovascular disease. The degree of platelet activation may be assessed by platelet indices such as platelet count, mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet distribution width (PDW).

AIM: To evaluate the relationship between platelet indices and clinical features of coronary artery disease (CAD).

METHODS: Our population is represented by a total of 441 consecutive patients undergoing coronary angiography. Patients were divided into three groups according to their clinical presentation: Patients with stable angina (Group I), with acute coronary syndrome (Group II), and with a normal coronary angiogram (Group III). All demographic and clinical features were collected retrospectively. Platelet indices were measured in all patients.

RESULTS: There was no statistical difference for platelet count, MPV and PDW values among the groups. Correlation analysis showed a positive association between platelet count and Gensini scoring (Kendall's tau b, r = 0.312, p = 0.037, two-tailed)and also age (Kendall's tau b, r = 0.518, p = 0.001, two-tailed) in patients with CAD. However, there was no significant correlation between Gensini scoring and MPV or PDW values in these patients.

CONCLUSIONS: PDW and MPV may not be related to the clinical features or presentation and extent of CAD. Our study findings add to the conflicting results of previous studies in this area. Prospective trials with longer follow-up periods and larger samples are warranted to conclusively define the role of platelet indices in CAD.