CORRELATION OF PLATELET INDICES IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE CEREBRO-VASCULAR ACCIDENT

Background: Platelets in particular play an important part in the formation of cerebral atherothrombotic events. Increased MPV (mean platelet volume) may be an indicator of increased platelet activation, and may thus be related to the severity and prognosis of stroke; the larger the MPV, the worse the outcome. This study done to determine the Mean Platelet Volume (MPV)  in patients with acute cerebro vascular accident (both ischemic & haemorrhagic) and correlate platelet indices with severity of acute cerebrovascular accident. Method: A prospective case control study of 30 Patients of acute stroke carried out at Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Jaipur. Results: It is observed that MPV and IPF in stroke cases (9.94±1.133 fl  and 10.07±6.970 respectively) was statistically significantly higher than control group (8.56±0.8119 fL and 8.686±4.731  respectively). Platelet count was statistically significantly lower in cases than control group ( 199.8 ± 65.60×103/µL and 265.9 ± 95.53×103/µL respectively). PDW in stroke cases was higher than control group but statistically non-significant. All platelet indices have significant relationship with severity. Conclusion: This study has shown an association of elevation of MPV, IPF & PDW and reduction of platelet count in acute ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke. The observations here suggest a role for larger platelets in the genesis of cerebral thrombosis. These platelet indices are found to be associated with the severity in acute stroke overall and also among patients with ischemic stroke.