title: Mean platelet volume is a useful indicator of systemic inflammation in cirrhotic patients with ascitic fluid infection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Ascitic fluid infection (AFI) consists primarily of two variants, namely, culture-negative neutrocytic ascites and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP). Mean platelet volume (MPV) has begun to be used as a simple and inexpensive indicator of inflammation in some diseases. We aimed to analyse whether platelet size alterations would be useful in predicting AFI in cirrhotic patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 135 patients with ascites due to cirrhosis and 55 control subjects were enrolled in this study. According to ascitic fluid analysis, 58 patients were considered to have AFI. MPV and inflammatory parameter values were determined for all study participants. The ability of MPV values to predict AFI in cirrhotic patients was analysed using receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A statistically significant increase in MPV levels was observed in cirrhotic patients with AFI compared to cirrhotic patients without AFI and healthy controls (p < 0.001). A statistically significant increase was observed in the AFI group with respect to MPV, C-reactive protein (CRP) and white blood cell (WBC) levels. ROC curve analysis suggested that the optimum MPV level cut-off point for cirrhotic patients with AFI was 8.45, with a sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (NPV), and positive predictive value (PPV) of 70.7%, 67.5%, 75.4% and 62.1%, respectively (area under curve: 0.768).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study shows that MPV is increased in cirrhotic patients with AFI. MPV measurement can considered to be an accurate diagnostic test in predicting AFI, possibly due to an ongoing systemic inflammatory response.
authors: Department of Gastroenterology, Turkiye Yuksek Íhtisas Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors: Burak
authors: B
authors: Suvak
authors: Serkan
authors: S
authors: Torun
authors: Hakan
authors: H
authors: Yildiz
authors: Abdurrahim
authors: A
authors: Sayilir
authors: Yusuf
authors: Y
authors: Yesil
authors: Adnan
authors: A
authors: Tas
authors: Yavuz
authors: Y
authors: Beyazit
authors: Nurgul
authors: N
authors: Sasmaz
authors: Ertuğrul
authors: E
authors: Kayaçetin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001202:Ascitic Fluid / Q000382:microbiology*; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000473:pathology*; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D048429:Cell Size; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000097:blood; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019152:Paracentesis; D010538:Peritonitis / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology; D010976:Platelet Count; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012372:ROC Curve; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D002097:C-Reactive Protein