ASSOCIATION OF MEAN PLATELET VOLUME WITH DISEASE SEVERITY OF PSORIASIS VULGARIS

Abstract

Background; Psoriasis is a common chronic recurrent inflammatory skin disease and platelet activation has been reported to be associated with its pathogenesis. This study was done to document mean MPV levels in patients with psoriasis vulgaris in our population as local data is scarce on this topic. Objectives; To determine MPV in patients with psoriasis vulgaris and to compare MPV in psoriasis with PASI > 10 and PASI < 10. Material and Methods; Patients fulfilling the stated criteria were recruited through Dermatology OPD of Nishtar Hospital, Multan, Pakistan. Purpose of the study was explained to them and informed consent was signed before their enrolment into the study. Relevant history, physical examination, PASI, and BMI was carried out. Laboratory parameters included CBC (hemoglobin, White blood cell, platelet count, MPV, PDW) and was measured using an auto-analyzer (Sysmex XE 2000 Germany). Alanine aminotransferase(ALT), Blood urea nitrogen(BUN), Creatinine, plasma sugar levels, Uric acid, Serum cholesterol, ESR, Hepatitis B and C screening and a baseline ECG was performed. Data was entered and analyzed by software SPSS version 15. Results; Our study comprised of a total of 100 patients meeting inclusion criteria of our study. Of these 100 study cases, 66 (66%) were male patients while 34 (34 %) were female patients. Mean age of our study cases was 39.98 ± 9.66 years (with minimum age of our study cases was 26 years while maximum age was 60 years). Of these 100 study cases, 41 (41 %) belonged to rural areas and 59 (59 %) belonged to urban areas. Monthly family income up to Rs. 50000 was noted in 48 (48%) while more than 50000 rupees was noted in 52 (52 %) of our study cases. Mean body mass index of our study cases was 23.62 ± 2.18 kg/m² and BMI more than 25 kg/m² was noted in 18 (18 %) of our study cases. Of these 100 study cases, 78 (78%) had PASI less than 10 while 22 (22%) had PASI equal /more than 10. Mean MPV was 8.63 ±  0.67 fL (with minimum MPV was 7.8 fL while maximum was 9.9 fL).

Conclusion; Mean platelet volume (MPV) was elevated among patients having psoriasis vulgaris and was significantly increased in patients with PASI ≥ 10 or disease severity. MPV is a good marker for disease severity of psoriasis vulgaris. MPV was significantly associated with gender, age, socioeconomic status, BMI and disease severity. All the clinicians treating such patients should regularly monitor MPV levels for early diagnosis of severity of the disease for better clinical outcomes.

Keywords; Psoriasis, mean platelet volume, disease severity.