• E Guclu, Y Durmaz, and O Karabay.
• Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Ministry of Health Sakarya University Training and Research Hospital, Sakarya, Turkey.
• Afr Health Sci. 2013 Jun 1; 13 (2): 333-8.

BackgroundSepsis is a major disease affecting almost all organs and systems.ObjectivesTo examine platelet count and indices (mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet distribution width (PDW)) in severe sepsis.MethodsPatients with criteria for sepsis at a first examination by an Infectious Diseases specialist were selected. Consecutive patients who were admitted to the out-patient clinic and who were not diagnosed with any infectious disease were selected as the control group.ResultsA total of 145 patients with sepsis and 143 patients as a control group were included in the study. MPV and PDW were significantly differentbetween sepsis patients and control group (P<0.05). Platelet count in sepsis patients was lower than control group but the difference was not significant. PDW was the unique significantly different parameter between survivors and non-survivors (p=0.001).ConclusionPlatelet indices are important laboratory findings in the diagnosis of sepsis and severe sepsis. Severe sepsis patients who have greater than 18 % PDW levels have a higher risk of death. Therefore, PDW, which is part of an inexpensive, easily accessible and routinely performed test for almost all patients admitted to health facilities may be used for predicting mortality.

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