Role of mean platelet volume in hypertriglyceridemia-induced acute pancreatitis during pregnancy

BackgroundHypertriglyceridemia-induced acute pancreatitis during pregnancy (HTG-APP) is a rare but severe disease with high maternal-fetal mortality risk, which constitutes a systemic inflammatory process accompanied by thrombosis and bleeding disorders. However, the role of mean platelet volume (MPV) in HTG-APP remains unclear.MethodsIn the retrospective study, we collected 45 patients with HTG-APP as the HTG-APP group and 49 pregnant females with hypertriglyceridemia as the control group. MPV and other relevant variables at onset and remission were collected and compared.ResultsMPV were significantly higher in the HTG-APP group than in the control group (P<0.001), and lower in remission than on onset (P=0.002). According to the severity of acute pancreatitis, all subjects were classified into mild AP (MAP), moderately severe AP (MSAP), and severe AP (SAP) groups. There was a significant difference in MPV on onset among the three groups (P=0.048), and the SAP patients had the highest levels of MPV. In addition, only in the SAP group, MPV was lower in remission than on onset (P=0.010). Logistic regression analyses revealed that MPV was significantly associated with SAP (odds ratio=2.077, 95% confdence interval, 1.038-4.154; P=0.039).ConclusionsThese results may indicate an important role of mean platelet volume in evaluating the severity of HTG-APP.