Mean platelet volume and central retinal vein occlusion in hypertensive patients.

OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between mean platelet volume (MPV) and central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) in hypertensive patients.

DESIGN: Hospital-based, retrospective, case control design.

PARTICIPANTS: The sample group consisted of 100 patients with a known history of hypertension and who are diagnosed with CRVO. The control group consisted of 100 age and sex-matched patients with the sample group and who had a sole history of hypertension without any other systemic diseases and the best corrected visual acuity of 20/20 in both the eyes.

METHODS: CRVO was diagnosed based on clinical examination. All cases and control subjects underwent complete ocular examination. MPV, platelet count, hemoglobin, white blood cell count and hematocrit parameters were recorded for both groups. The data of patients with CRVO was compared with the control subjects. Confidence interval was set at 95% with a P-value of < 0.05.

RESULTS: MPV was significantly higher among hypertensive cases diagnosed with CRVO when compared with the hypertensive control group (8.059 ± 0.016, 7.442 ± 0.15 fL respectively; P < 0.001). The platelet count was lower in the control group, but the difference was not significant. The systolic blood pressure was significantly higher in the sample group.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated that MPV values were significantly higher in patients with CRVO, suggesting that increased MPV may contribute to the development of CRVO.