An Elevated Percentage of Reticulated Platelet Is Associated With Increased Mortality in Septic Shock Patients

Microcirculatory changes and coagulation disturbances are thought to play a key role in sepsis. Some evidence suggests that the percentage of reticulated platelets (RP%) may be a valuable and cost-effective sepsis screening parameter. This was a prospective study in surgical patients to investigate the potential value of RP% as a predictor of mortality in septic shock patients.This was a prospective study conducted in a surgical critical care center of a Chinese tertiary care hospital. Consecutive septic shock patients were enrolled at admission. Age- and sex-matched non-septic patients were recruited as control patients. RP% was determined by flow cytometry in 68 septic shock patients and 68 controls.Compared with survivors, septic patients who died presented with a significantly higher RP% (P