Relationship of the platelet distribution width/platelet count ratio with thyroid antibody levels in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis

OBJECTIVE: I investigated whether the platelet distribution width/platelet count (PDW/PC) ratio, which is an inexpensive and simple test performed for almost all patients, is applicable in the follow-up of patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and examined the relationship of this ratio with thyroperoxidase and thyroglobulin antibody levels. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study groups consisted of 67 patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and 17 controls. All participants were aged 20 to 75 and treated the Internal Medicine outpatient clinic of my institution. The PDW/PC ratio and thyroid antibody levels were retrospectively evaluated in patients with normal liver and renal function and normal white blood cell counts, hemoglobin levels, and hematocrit levels. RESULTS: Thyroid antibody levels were significantly higher in patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis than in controls. PC was higher in patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, whereas the PDW/PC ratio was lower. However, these differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: In this study, I did not find a statistically significant relationship between thyroid antibody levels and PDW/PC. However, a weak correlation between these variables was identified.