title: The relationship between platelet indices and clinical features of coronary artery disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Platelets play a key role in the development and progression of cardiovascular disease. The degree of platelet activation may be assessed by platelet indices such as platelet count, mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet distribution width (PDW).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the relationship between platelet indices and clinical features of coronary artery disease (CAD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Our population is represented by a total of 441 consecutive patients undergoing coronary angiography. Patients were divided into three groups according to their clinical presentation: Patients with stable angina (Group I), with acute coronary syndrome (Group II), and with a normal coronary angiogram (Group III). All demographic and clinical features were collected retrospectively. Platelet indices were measured in all patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no statistical difference for platelet count, MPV and PDW values among the groups. Correlation analysis showed a positive association between platelet count and Gensini scoring (Kendall's tau b, r = 0.312, p = 0.037, two-tailed)and also age (Kendall's tau b, r = 0.518, p = 0.001, two-tailed) in patients with CAD. However, there was no significant correlation between Gensini scoring and MPV or PDW values in these patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PDW and MPV may not be related to the clinical features or presentation and extent of CAD. Our study findings add to the conflicting results of previous studies in this area. Prospective trials with longer follow-up periods and larger samples are warranted to conclusively define the role of platelet indices in CAD.
authors.affiliation: Izmir University Faculty of Medicine. istemihantengiz@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Ugur
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Turk
authors.forename: Istemihan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tengiz
authors.forename: Emre
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ozpelit
authors.forename: Aydan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Celebiler
authors.forename: Nihat
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pekel
authors.forename: Ferhat
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ozyurtlu
authors.forename: Emin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Alioglu
authors.forename: Ertugrul
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ercan
mesh_terms: D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D063847:Mean Platelet Volume; D008875:Middle Aged; D015539:Platelet Activation; D010974:Platelet Aggregation; D010976:Platelet Count; D012189:Retrospective Studies