INTRODUCTION: Rheumatoid heart disease (RHD) is an important and preventable cause of cardiovascular disease in developing countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet distribution width (PDW) in RHD.
METHODS: This study was carried out in Kayseri Health Sciences University, Department of Pediatric Cardiology, with 135 children with RHD who were retrospectively observed between February 2000 and February 2017 for seven years and 40 healthy children with similar age and sex.
RESULTS: The mean age of the 135 patients enrolled in the study was 12,43 ± 3,11 years, 70 were males (51,8%) and 65 were females (48,2%). The mean age of the control group was 12,96 ± 2,55 years, 21,21 male (52,5%) and 19 female (47,5%). MPV values of the patients were significantly lower in the RHD group (9,43 ± 1,31 and 10,21 ± 1,25, p: 0,003).Conversely, the PDW levels were significantly higher in the RHD group (15,70 (15,40-16,00) and 12,25 (10,40-14,30), p: 0,001). When MPV / PDW ratio was examined, it was found to be significantly lower in the RHD group (0,61 (0,55-0,71) and 0,87 (0,79-0,93), p: 0,001).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: MPV values were lower and PDW values were higher when compared to controls in RHD process.