Mean platelet volume: a controversial marker of disease activity in Crohn’s disease

BACKGROUND: We investigated and compared the capacity of mean platelet volume (MPV) and other inflammatory markers in detecting Crohn’s disease (CD) activity and differentiating CD patients from healthy controls. METHODS: MPV, C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and white blood cells were measured in 61 CD patients and 50 healthy subjects. Disease activity was assessed by the Crohn’s Disease Activity Index. RESULTS: A significant decrease in MPV was noted in patients with CD compared with healthy controls (P <0.0001), but statistical difference was not found between active and inactive CD groups. In CD, no significant correlation was found between MPV and other inflammatory markers. The overall accuracy of MPV (cutoff: 10.35 fl), CRP (cutoff: 4.85 mg/dl) and ESR (cutoff: 8.5 mm/hour) in differentiating CD patients from healthy controls was 76.6%, 65.8% and 72.1% respectively. The overall accuracy of CRP (cutoff: 4.95 mg/dl) and ESR (cutoff: 16.5 mm/hour) in determination of active CD was 80.3% and 73.8%. CONCLUSIONS: MPV declined in CD patients compared with healthy subjects. MPV had the best accuracy in determination of CD patients and healthy controls. MPV did not show a discriminative value in disease activity.