Longitudinal study of platelet size changes in gestation and predictive power of elevated MPV in development of pre-eclampsia

Objectives The aim of this cohort is to investigate whether any haematologic changes detectable by simple complete blood count (CBC) precede pre-eclampsia development and the diagnostic value of these markers in clinical practice for prediction of pre-eclampsia. Methods All pregnant women, in the first trimester, attending to GATA Haydarpasa Teaching Hospital Obstetric Outpatient Clinic for routine obstetric care were enrolled. Routine obstetric care consisted of monthly visits until 32nd week. bimonthly visits between 32nd and 36th week. and weekly thereafter. According to the study, protocol CBC was taken from women Lit each visit and recorded. After delivery, outcome data were obtained. Results A total of 1336 women were included into the statistical analysis and 107 (8%) of them developed pre-eclampsia. Parameters of CBC were similar between groups other than mean platelet Volume (MPV) values. MPV values of pre-eclamptic women were significantly higher than normotensive Counterparts from 24th gestational week up to gestational week at birth. In pre-eclamptic group, mean gestational age of diagnosis was 33.8 weeks and significant MPV increase was detected to precede the diagnosis by approximately 4.6 weeks (range 2.8-5.9 weeks). Conclusions Our Study provides evidence that MPV gradually increases in pregnant women affected by pre-eclampsia compared to women with normal pregnancies. Copyright (C) 2008 John Wiley & Sons. Ltd.