Platelet distribution width associated with short‐term prognosis and cost in paediatrics with partial‐thickness thermal burns: A retrospective comparative study

Platelets exert important roles in burn wound healing and involving in inflammatory regulation and tissue repair. Platelet distribution width (PDW) is an indicator representing platelet morphology and activation. In this study, we try to evaluate the value of PDW in predicting short‐term prognosis and cost of paediatrics with partial‐thickness thermal burns. This retrospective study enrolled 73 children with partial‐thickness thermal burns. The Ability of PDW to predict wound healing was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. All 73 patients were assigned into high and low PDW group according to optimal cut‐off value from ROC curve. Associations between PDW and 2‐weeks healing rate, time to wound healing, in‐hospital cost and length of stay were evaluated. Furthermore, Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to furtherly evaluate the significance of PDW in wound healing. We found that all baseline characteristics between groups were comparable (all P > .05). High PDW group had a significant higher 2‐weeks wound healing rate than those with a low PDW (66.7% versus 32.6%, P < .01). Moreover, the mean time to wound healing of high PDW was obviously shorter than that of low PDW group (15.4 ± 10.1 vs 20.7 ± 10.9, P = .04). Univariate (OR: 0.24, 95%CI: 0.09–0.65, P < .01) and multivariate (OR: 0.15, 95CI%:0.05–0.52, P < .01) analysis confirmed PDW as an independent marker for wound healing. Patients in high PDW group had a significant lower medical burden than low PDW group, including in‐hospital cost (13.7 ± 10.6 vs 21.9 ± 16.7, ×103RMB, P = .02) and length of stay (12.2 ± 8.8 vs 19.0 ± 10.8 days, P < .01). In conclusion, PDW can sever as a potential indictor to predict the short‐term prognosis of paediatrics with partial thickness thermal burns.