Mean platelet volume: a controversial marker of disease activity in Crohn’s disease

MPV, C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and white blood cells were measured in 61 CD patients and 50 healthy subjects. Disease activity was assessed by the Crohn’s Disease Activity Index.A significant decrease in MPV was noted in patients with CD compared with healthy controls (P <0.0001), but statistical difference was not found between active and inactive CD groups. In CD, no significant correlation was found between MPV and other inflammatory markers. The overall accuracy of MPV (cutoff: 10.35 fl), CRP (cutoff: 4.85 mg/dl) and ESR (cutoff: 8.5 mm/hour) in differentiating CD patients from healthy controls was 76.6%, 65.8% and 72.1% respectively. The overall accuracy of CRP (cutoff: 4.95 mg/dl) and ESR (cutoff: 16.5 mm/hour) in determination of active CD was 80.3% and 73.8%.MPV declined in CD patients compared with healthy subjects. MPV had the best accuracy in determination of CD patients and healthy controls. MPV did not show a discriminative value in disease activity.The pathogenesis of Crohn’s disease (CD) remains unclear [1,2]. Previous studies suggested that early detection of disease activity could significantly reduce the mortality of CD [3,4]. Non-invasive tests, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and fecal calprotectin, are therefore being increasingly recognized as important markers for initial diagnosis and disease activity detection.Recently, several studies have suggested that platelets may be involved in the pathogenesis of CD [5-8]. In addition, mean platelet volume (MPV) has been reported to be influenced in CD [9,10], and has been assumed a potential inflammatory marker and disease activity indicator in several studies [10-12].However, as these studies involved limited amounts of enrolled patients or did not compare the differential capacity of MPV with previous inflammatory markers, the present study was designed to examine whether MPV would be useful for differentiating CD patients