Mean platelet volume and its influence on the severity of acute ischemic stroke

Abstract EN

Introduction and objective e : Mean platelet volume (MPV) values in association with both thrombosis and inflammation have become a point of interest in the last few decades, and some studies have reported MPV values significantly higher in patients with stroke.

This study aims to determine if there is an association between elevated levels of MPV and the severity of acute ischemic brain stroke.

Patients and methods : Fifty acute ischemic stroke patients who were admitted to Merjan Teaching Hospital in Al-Hilla City, Babylon-Iraq ; during the period from October 2013 to April 2014 were enrolled in this study.

They included 22 males and 28 females, their ages ranged from 50-90 years, with a mean age of 70.52 ± 11.264 years.

Those patients were divided into two groups based on modified Rankin Scale (mRS) : Group 1 (mRS 0-2), group 2 (mRS > 3).

This scale was used to assess the severity of the disease.

Blood samples were collected from the patients to measure MPV.

Results : The study demonstrated that the patients' group with mRS > 3 were significantly older than the other group regarding the age distribution, and MPV values for them were also significantly higher than the other group.

Concerning the gender distribution and clinical history of ischemic heart disease and smoking, there were no significant differences between the two groups of patients.

Conclusion : Mean platelet volume is a strong and independent risk factor for acute ischemic stroke and high MPV values could be associated with a severe form of the disease.