Reliability of Platelet Indices for Diagnosing Pulmonary Embolism; a Brief Report

INTRODUCTION: Early diagnosis of pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) is crucial in clinical medicine. Many para-clinical measurements are used to diagnose PTE. OBJECTIVE: The present study was conducted to evaluate platelet indices in terms of diagnosing PTE. METHODS: The present case-control study was conducted between May 2015 to July 2016 with 173 patients suspected of PTE in the emergency wards of Shahid Madani Hospital and Imam Reza Hospital affiliated to Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran. The patients’ platelet indices were checked upon admission and they were evaluated in terms of diagnosing PTE. Platelet indices included mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW) and plateletcrit (PL-CR). PTE was diagnosed in 125 out of the 173 patients. Platelet indices were also compared between two groups. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups in term of demographic variables (p>0.05). MPV was found to be 10.38±8.59 in the case group and 9.46±1.11 in the controls (p>0.05). PDW was also found to be 12.86±5.57 in the case group and 12.32±2.48 in the controls (p>0.05). Moreover, PL-CR was found to be 22.59±7.32 in the case group and 21.97±8.16 in the controls (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: According to the obtained results, platelet indices do not increase in PTE. They cannot be therefore used to diagnose PTE in suspected patients.