title: New hematological indices in the healthy elderly.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recently, new indices related to erythrocytes and platelet counts have been provided by hematological analysers. The purpose of the study is to investigate these new parameters in the elderly to define their normal values and to compare them with the range provided by the manufacturer.
  
  
  METHODS
  
  
  
  METHODS
  a comparative study.
  
  
  METHODS
  general community, geriatric and internal medicine ambulatories.
  
  
  METHODS
  sixty healthy free-living elderly (cut-off: 65 years) and 66 healthy young-adults, as a control group.
  
  
  METHODS
  we measured the common and the new hematological parameters by H.1 Bayer technology. The new hematological parameters are red diameter width-RDW, hemoglobin distribution width-HDW, mean platelet volume-MPV, platelet diameter width-PDW, platelet hematocrit-Pct. We then compared the values of our population with the Bayer range.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The confidence interval width of the new indices define very faster limits than the Bayer range. Statistical differences were significant only in male groups: young-adults (Y) versus elderly (E) with higher values in Y than E in RBC p=0.002, in Platelet count p=0.050 and in MPV p=0.026; and higher values in E in MCV p=0.008, MCH p=0.006 and PDW p=0.004.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the literature a wide range of common hematological parameters are reported in the elderly, while the new hematological values have not been discussed till now. Our results may contribute to define the laboratory limits of the new hematological values in the healthy elderly.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Analysis, Cisanello Hospital, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ruocco
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Del Corso
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Romanelli
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Deri
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pentimone
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001772:Blood Cell Count; D004906:Erythrocyte Count; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010976:Platelet Count; D012016:Reference Values; D012727:Sex Characteristics