A new model using platelet indices to predict liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection

We aimed to investigate whether mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet distribution width (PDW) are variables determining the severity of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic HBV infection.

Patients were divided into two groups with fibrosis scores of 0-2 and 3-6 (according to Ishac scoring system). Whether MPV and PDW were independent variables determining the severity of liver fibrosis score or not was investigated by comparing these groups.

Of the 111 cases, 74 (66.7 %) were male (mean age 37.7 ± 11.6 years). Twenty-two of the cases (19.8 %) were HBeAg-positive. Fibrosis scores of 42 cases (37.8 %) were ≥ 3 and the remaining 69 cases had fibrosis scores < 3 (62.2 %). Independent variables determining the severity of fibrosis score were low levels of albumin and mean platelet volume, and high levels of prothrombin time and PDW (Odds ratio (95 % confidence interval) and p values were 0.105 (0.018-0.605) and 0.012 for albumin, 0.402 (0.234-0.692) and 0.001 for mean platelet volume, 1.529 (1.183-1.975) and 0.001 for PDW, and 0.924 (0.875-0.976) and 0.005 for prothrombin time, respectively). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of regression model that is established using above mentioned parameters were 88.1, 75.3, 68.5, and 91.7 %, respectively (AUC = 0.886, p = 0.0001).

MPV and PDW are independent variables determining the severity of liver fibrosis, and the regression model that is established using these parameters along with other markers, may give more information about the severity of liver fibrosis.