Assessment of bronchial asthma exacerbation: the utility of platelet indices

Background Activated platelets and platelet indices have a vital role in bronchial hyper-responsiveness, bronchoconstriction, bronchial inflammation, airway remodeling, angiogenesis, allergic reactions, and repair and renewal of tissues; platelets contain mediators that lead to inflammatory response. Aim The aim was to assess the use of platelet indices [mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), plateletcrit (PCT), and platelet large cell ratio (PLCR)] as cheap and readily available biomarkers for bronchial asthma exacerbation. Patients and methods A case–control study involved 45 bronchial asthma female patients during both stable and exacerbation phases, and 45 age-matched healthy female patients as a control group. Measurements of platelet counts, MPV, PDW, PCT, PLCR, C-reactive protein (CRP), spirometric indices, and arterial blood gases were performed for all participants. Results The MPV and PDW were significantly lower, whereas the PCT and PLCR were considerably higher in exacerbation phase compared with stable phase and in stable phase in comparison with controls ( P