DIAGNOSTIC UTILITY OF PLATELET INDICES IN PREDICTING SEVERITY OF ACUTE APPENDICITIS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY
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Keywords
Acute appendicitis, Mean Platelet Volume, Platelet Distribution Width, Platelet count, Complicated appendicitis, Biomarkers.
Abstract
Acute appendicitis remains one of the most common surgical emergencies, and differentiating uncomplicated from complicated forms is essential to minimize morbidity. Conventional inflammatory markers lack specificity, prompting interest in low-cost hematological parameters such as platelet indices.
Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic role of platelet count and platelet indices—Mean Platelet Volume (MPV) and Platelet Distribution Width (PDW)—in differentiating uncomplicated and complicated acute appendicitis.
Methods: This comparative observational study included 80 patients aged 15–65 years presenting with clinical features of acute appendicitis. Patients were classified into uncomplicated or complicated appendicitis based on intraoperative and histopathological findings. Preoperative platelet count, MPV, and PDW were measured. Statistical analysis included Student’s t-test, Chi-square test, and ROC curve assessment, with p < 0.05 considered significant.
Results: Complicated appendicitis cases demonstrated significantly higher platelet counts and PDW values, and significantly lower MPV values compared with uncomplicated cases (p < 0.001). ROC analysis showed PDW (AUC 0.83) had the highest diagnostic accuracy, followed by MPV (AUC 0.81). Platelet count also correlated with complication severity.
Conclusion: Platelet indices, particularly PDW and MPV, serve as reliable, inexpensive biomarkers for predicting complicated appendicitis and can be used as adjunctive tools in early clinical decision-making.
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Dr. Madhan Pranesh.R
Resident, Department of General Surgery, BPS GMC for women,Khanpur kalan,Sonepat,Haryana. Email id: madhanpranesh@gmail.com ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8847-4968
Dr. Vipan Kumar
Associate Professor, Department of Pediatric Surgery, BPS GMC for women,Khanpur kalan, Sonepat, Haryana Email id: Vipanbangar128@gmail.com ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3827-8342
Dr. Sanjeev Singla
Professor and Head, Department of General Surgery, BPS GMC for women, Khanpur kalan, Sonepat, Haryana. Email id : sanjeev44@live.in ORCID : https://orcid.org/0009-0001-6877-610X
Dr. Chanderbhan
Assistant Professor, Department of General Surgery, BPS GMC for women, Khanpur kalan, Sonepat, Haryana Email id: sheelacb2@gmail.com ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5130-5837
Dr. Deepti Agarwal
Professor, Department of Pathology, BPS GMC for women, Khanpur kalan,Sonepat,Haryana. Email id : drdeepti75@gmail.com ORCID : https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5704-2100
Dr. Suman
Resident, Department of General Surgery, BPS GMC for women, Khanpur kalan, Sonepat, Haryana. Email Id: sumanboora376@gmail.com ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0759-8294
Dr. Prashant Kumar
Resident, Department of General Surgery, BPS GMC for women, Khanpur kalan, Sonepat, Haryana. Email id: prasantk.07@gmail.com ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7621-164X
