Utility of various platelet parameters in differentiating between dengue with and without warning signs among children, a prospective observational study

Abstract

Dengue among children can lead to severe life-threatening complications. Various platelet related parameters, includingIPF, MPV, PDW, PCT,can aid the clinicians in predicting the severity and clinical course of dengue.The present study was conducted to assess the utility of platelet parameters in differentiating the dengue children with Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute amongchildren between 6 monthsand 18 years of age, who weredengue positive. Blood samples were collected from these patients at the bedside and analyzed using BECKMAN COULTER and SYSMEX XE-2100 systems.Statistical Analysis was done using SPSS 22.0.IBM Corp. Results:The mean age of children with warning signs was 7.08 ± 4.39 years. The mean day one platelet count of people with warning signs was 0.68 ± 0.37. The mean difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P-value <0.001). The mean day one packed cell volume, and PWDamong children with warning signs was 0.07 ± 0.05 (P-value 0.006) and 17.37 ± 1.07 (P-value 0.029).The mean difference between the two groups was statistically significant. The day 1 PCT had good predictive validity in predicting warning signs, as indicated by the area under the curve of 0. 836 (0.056 to 0.727, p-value <0.001).