Mean platelet volume does not seem to relate to thrombosis or posterior uveitis in Behçet's disease

Behçet's disease (BD) is a chronic inflammatory disorder in which thrombosis and posterior ocular involvement occur in about 30% of patients, whose ethiology is unknown. It has not been established whether mean platelet volume (MPV), a marker of platelet activation, is involved in the pathogenesis of thrombotic events and posterior uveitis in these patients. We aimed to analyze whether there are differences in MPV in BD patients when compared with controls and its relation with the presence of thrombosis and posterior uveitis. We determined MPV and platelet count, along with C-reactive protein (CRP) and cardiovascular risk factors (because of their influence on MPV) in 89 BD patients (of which 24 had thrombosis and 23 had posterior uveitis) and 89 sex- and age-matched healthy controls. BD patients showed statistically higher MPV than controls: 10.98 ± 1.19 fL vs. 10.60 ± 1.21 fL (P = 0.044) and higher CRP: 5.9 ± 8.9 mg/L vs. 1.4 ± 1.7 mg/L (P = 0.001). The percentage of hyperlipemia and diabetes was higher in cases than in controls (P = 0.032, P = 0.013, respectively). No differences in MPV were observed when comparing: patients with and without thrombosis: 11.8 ± 1.27 fL vs. 10.94 ± 1.28 fL (P = 0.654); with and without posterior uveitis: 10.76 ± 1.18 fL vs. 11.03 ± 1.30 fL P = 0.398; with CRP and cardiovascular risk factors (P > 0.05). MPV correlated negatively with platelet count (r = -308, P < 0.01), but not with CRP (r = -0.22, P = 0.772). MPV seems to relate to neither thrombosis nor posterior uveitis in BD patients.