Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Department of Pathology, Resident Doctor, RNT Medical College, Udaipur, Rajasthan
2
Department of Pathology, Associate Professor, RNT Medical College, Udaipur, Rajasthan
3
Department of Pathology, Resident doctor, RNT Medical College, Udaipur, Rajasthan
4
Department of Internal Medicine, Resident Doctor, AIIMS, New Delhi
10.30485/ijsrdms.2026.582602.1705
Abstract
Background and aim: This analytical cross-sectional study evaluated the significance of platelet count and platelet indices in preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy associated with significant maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Platelet activation and consumption are key pathophysiological features. This study aimed to evaluate the significance of platelet count and platelet indices mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), and plateletcrit (PCT) in preeclampsia and their associations with disease severity.
Material and methods: This analytical cross-sectional study included 100 pregnant women (50 normotensive controls and 50 preeclamptic women) attending M.B. Government Hospital and referred to the Haematology section, Pathology Department, R.N.T. Medical College, Udaipur. Platelet parameters were measured using a fully automated haematology analyser (Yumizen H550). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 16; one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation, and ROC curve analysis were applied.
Results: Platelet count was significantly lower in preeclamptic women (164.21 ± 50.15 ×10³/µL) compared with normotensive women (212.8 ± 59.3 ×10³/µL), with a progressive decline from mild to severe preeclampsia (p <0.001). MPV and PDW increased significantly with severity (p = 0.024 and p = 0.001, respectively). PCT showed no significant difference (p =0.853). ROC analysis revealed AUC values of 0.75 for platelet count and 0.73 for PDW, demonstrating moderate diagnostic performance.
Conclusions: Platelet count and PDW are potentially useful, cost-effective markers for early detection and severity assessment of preeclampsia, though further validation is needed. Routine assessment of platelet indices as part of a complete blood count may provide additional clinical information in managing hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.
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