Diagnostic value of platelet indexes for pulmonary embolism

Aim: The aims of the study are to investigate the changes in platelet indexes, including platelet count, platelet distribution width (PDW), and mean platelet volume (MPV), in patients with pulmonary embolism (PE) and to evaluate their diagnostic values in relation to this disease. Methods: The study included 70 patients with PE as the observation group and 75 patients without PE as the control group. The differences in platelet count, PDW, MPV, D-dimer, and other indicators between the 2 groups were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Platelet distribution width and MPV were significantly higher in patients with PE than in the controls (16.40% [13.70%-16.85%] vs 16.00% [11.28%-16.60%], P=.023; 9.91 +/- 1.40 fL. vs 8.84 +/- 1.68 fL, P<.001, respectively). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that MPV and D-dimer were independent influencing factors for the diagnosis of PE. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that MPV (with the cut-off value set at 8.45 fL) had a sensitivity of 88.7%, negative predictive value of 78.7%, specificity of 50.0%, and positive predictive value of 61.9%. D-Dimer (with the cut-off value set at 835.5 mu g/L) had a sensitivity of 80.6%, negative predictive value of 77.8%, specificity of 62.1%, and positive predictive value of 66.7%. The combination of D-dimer and MPV resulted in an increase in the area under the curve (0.799; 95% confidence interval, 0.724-0.874; P<.001). Conclusion: Higher PDW and MPV levels are noticed in patients with PE. The combined application of MPV can improve the diagnostic value of D-dimer for PE. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.