Correlation between change in platelet count and platelet indices in cases of acute ischemic stroke in tertiary care centre of northern India

Background: Platelet is the important factor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic complications, contributing to thrombus formation. As there is a significant correlation found between acute ischaemic stroke and platelet indices including platelet count with their prognostication, but no similar study has been documented from this area of the country, which has drawn attention to conducting this study. Methods: This is an observational, case-control study. Patients with acute ischaemic stroke and aged 18 years or above were included involving a total of 156 subjects (78 cases and 78 controls). They were examined clinically radio-logically and pathologically by platelet count and different indices like mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), platelet to large cell ratio (P-LCR). Results: In the present study, mean PDW of cases is 17.69 fl with a SD of 3.22 fl and means PDW of the control group is 13.67 fl with a SD of 3.15 fl. There is statistically insignificant (p=0.26, CI-95%) changes in value of plateletcrit (PCT) among cases and control group (mean PCT of cases is 0.27% with a SD of 0.O7% and the mean PCT of control subjects is 0.29% with a SD of 0.07%). Conclusion: The observations here suggest a role for larger platelets in the genesis of cerebral thrombosis and are likely to represent changes occurring at the time of thrombopoiesis. Patients with larger platelets can easily be identified during routine haematological analysis. Hence, these indices serve as an important and cost-effective tool in predicting an impending ischemic event and can be used in the future, especially in resource poor countries like India. Keywords: mean platelet volume; platelet count; cerebrovascular accident; platelet distribution width; plateletcrit