Platelet mass index can be a reliable marker in predicting the prognosis of retinopathy of prematurity in very preterm infants

Abstract

The present study found a significant difference between the two groups in PMI measurements which reflect increased VEGF levels during the neovascularization phase, which underlies the disease. This conclusion demonstrated that monitoring the PMI values in newborns at risk of ROP can be considered to be a minimally invasive method that by changing the retinal examination procedure in use today which is rather troublesome for both the physician and the newborn, can provide facilities in monitoring the disease for both the physician and the newborn.

Can Platelet Mass Index Be a Parameter to Predict Intraventricular Hemorrhage in Very-Low-Birth-Weight Newborns?

“…In addition, it has been proposed that there is a relationship between the platelets' existing proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory effects and IVH that occurs in the brain of the immature newborn. 9,20,25 When considered with the above-mentioned data, the PMI values being detected low in SSG cases, in our study, corroborate the previous studies of its kind. Despite the presence of a multitude of studies in the literature that highlight similar mechanisms, the importance of oxygen use in terms of ROP, comprehensive studies on the relationship between oxygen use and IVH are rather limited.…”

“…Therefore, it is reasonable that clinicians consider PMI to be more reliable in understanding platelet activity. 6,7,9,20 In our study, SSG was composed of both cases with grades 3 to 4 IVH detected at the initial TFU, and those with grade 1 to 2 IVH at the first TFU but subsequently becoming high-grade IVH cases. In light of these data, the low levels of PMI 2 detected in the VLBW newborns may be the cause of a previous, or the portent of a future, high-grade IVH.…”

“…It is also known that platelets, apart from their effects on VEGF, contribute to the formation of new vascularizations by stimulating in vitro endothelial cells. 9,20,[25][26][27][28] The presence of the parallel relationship between the platelets playing crucial roles in the transport and storage of the factors involved in HIF and HIF-triggered angiogenesis factors is extremely important. Decrease in HIF levels causes the levels of platelet transported VEGF to drop, which can be interpreted to be the decrease in PMI as a laboratory finding.…”

“…In these studies, it has been stressed that platelet mass index (PMI), which has been demonstrated to be closely associated with platelet activity, has presented more meaningful data in both IVH and many other pathologies than other platelet parameters do. 4,[6][7][8][9] When looked from this perspective, it is perfectly reasonable to think that the PMI values found to be low can provide knowledge about IVH before the time of measurement as well as providing the clinician with more meaningful knowledge than other platelet parameters, such as platelet count (PC) and mean platelet volume (MPV) regarding the prediction of potential IVH after PMI quantification.…”

Novel Potential Biomarkers for Retinopathy of Prematurity

“…There is significant thrombocytopenia in the blood samples of infants with treatment-requiring ROP, and this could be a predictor of disease progression ( 103 ). Platelet mass index is a reliable monitoring indicator for the prognosis of ROP in very premature newborns ( 104 ). The percentage of fetal hemoglobin after birth is negatively correlated with the severity of ROP ( 105 ).…”