Can mean platelet volume be a prognosis predictor in viral infections: An example of Covid-19

PURPOSE: This study revealed the utility of mean platelet volume (MPV) as a mortality marker in SARS-CoV-2 infection, as well as its connection with other inflammatory indicators such as procalcitonin (PCT) and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR). METHODS: A total of 1528 patients (853 males and 653 females; mean age: 64.33 ± 16.36 years; range, 18–100 years) were hospitalized with COVID-19 between March 2020 and December 2022. The patients' demographic and clinical information, including ward and critical care data, were gathered from their medical records. On the first and last days, the PCT, NLR, and MPV values of the patients, who were divided into groups based on their hospitalization and outcomes, were analyzed. RESULTS: When the relevant laboratory data from the first and last days were compared, each group was statistically significant (p < 0.05). There was a moderate association between the final MPV values and the PCT and NLR values of the patients admitted to the ward (r = 0.448 and r = 0.397, respectively, where p < 0.01). There was also a substantial and moderate correlation between the final MPV levels and the PCT and NLR values of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (r = 0.613 and r = 0.361, respectively, p < 0.01). When compared to the patients' outcomes, the MPV had greater specificity and AUC values than the PCT and NLR (94.4 %, 0.968, 80.6 %, 0.923, 81 %, 0.845, respectively). CONCLUSION: In patients hospitalized with COVID-19, the specificity of MPV values at the point of sickness severity and outcome was shown to be greater than PCT and NLR values, and MPV values may be a more accurate predictor of mortality than PCR and NLR.