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Subject Area

Clinical Pathology

Article Type

Review

Abstract

Objective The aim of this study was to assess the level of mean platelet volume (MPV) in children with acute hepatitis A as compared with the control group. Background MPV is a marker that indicates platelet size, function, and the rate of platelet production and activation. Patients and methods Our study was conducted on 100 Egyptian children, aged from 2 to 14 years (58 male and 42 female) previously diagnosed as having hepatitis A as a patient group and 100 apparently healthy age-matched and sex-matched children as a control group. All of them were subjected to full history, physical examination, C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, complete blood count, MPV levels, liver function tests (alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase), serum bilirubin level (total and direct), prothrombin time, and platelet count. The diagnosis of hepatitis A virus infection was based on antihepatitis A virus immunoglobulin M positivity. Results MPV in the study group was significantly lower than the control group (P < 0.001). The MPV levels revealed no correlation with the alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase (P > 0.05), but the MPV level was directly proportionate to the platelet counts (P < 0.05). Our study showed that there was 9% of cases with complications, mainly dehydration. Conclusion This study demonstrated that MPV is a negative acute-phase reactant for children with acute hepatitis A.

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