Can Serum Mean Platelet Volume be Used as an Inflammatory Marker in Patients with Celiac Disease?

Abstract

Background and Aims: Mean platelet volume has been studied as a simple inflammatory marker in several diseases. Some studies have reported that mean platelet volume increases in myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular disease. Contrarily, it decreases in rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and inflammatory bowel disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether mean platelet volume was changed in celiac disease and whether it could be used to monitor a gluten-free diet in patients. Materials and Methods: After excluding patients with severe comorbidities and patients who did not comply with the gluten-free diet, a total of 50 patients with celiac disease (men/women: 9/41) and 50 healthy subjects (men/women: 10/40) were included in the study. The diagnosis of celiac disease was based on standard serological, endoscopic, and histological criteria. The study enrolled patients with celiac disease who recovered clinically and serologically 1 year after gluten-free diet. Complete blood count analyses were performed within 2 h after collection with the use of the Beckman coulter analyzer. Results: Mean platelet volume levels were not significantly different in the celiac disease group than that of in the control group. In the celiac disease group, the mean platelet volume levels did not change after 1 year of gluten-free diet compared with the time of celiac disease diagnosis. On the contrary, a decrease in the platelet count after gluten-free diet was detected. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that mean platelet volume is not altered in patients with celiac disease, and it also showed that mean platelet volume cannot be used as a marker for predicting dietary compliance in patients with celiac disease.