title: Thrombocytopenia as a marker of outcome in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Thrombocytopenia (TP) is associated with poor outcome in patients who are critically ill with pneumonia, burns, and H1N1 influenza. To our knowledge, no similar study in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) has been conducted to date. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of platelet count on the outcome of patients with AECOPD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients admitted to our teaching hospital for AECOPD were divided into two cohorts, those with and without TP. The outcome of all patients was followed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 200 patients with AECOPD, 55 (27.5%) had TP. Of these, 14 (25.5%) died in the hospital, whereas of the 145 non-TP patents, 11 (7.5%) died (p-value = 0.001). There was a significantly higher transfer rate to the ICU and mechanical ventilation in TP patients. The mean platelet count was significantly lower in patients who died than those who were discharged (161,672 vs. 203,005 cell/μL; p-value = 0.017). There was negative correlation between duration of hospitalization and platelet count.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TP was associated with poor outcome in AECOPD. TP could be considered as a marker for the assessment of inﬂammation and prognosis in AECOPD patients based on its cost-effective features.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Iran. s.rahimirad@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Mohammad Hossein
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Rahimi-Rad
authors.forename: Sheida
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Soltani
authors.forename: Masome
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rabieepour
authors.forename: Shagayegh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rahimirad
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D063868:Patient Outcome Assessment; D010976:Platelet Count; D011379:Prognosis; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality; D013921:Thrombocytopenia / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: acute exacerbation of COPD; mortality; outcome; platelet count; thrombocytopenia