Platelet Indices in Pediatrics with Congenital Heart Disease with and without Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is an uncommon syndrome characterized by dyspnea and fatigue resulting from a progressive elevation in pulmonary vascular resistance. Recent research suggests that the relationship between pulmonary arterioles and platelets could be connected to the ongoing changes in pulmonary blood vessels seen in PAH. Therefore, this study aimed to assess platelet indices in pediatric patients with PAH.Methods: This study in pediatric cardiology was conducted in 2020. Laboratory and clinical data were obtained retrospectively from hospital records. All patients had undergone physical examination and echocardiography. The study included 44 pediatric cases with congenital heart disease (CHD).Results: Mean and standard deviation (SD) of age in cases with and without PAH were 7.75±3.64 and 5.97±3.71, respectively; the male/female ratio in the two groups was 10:12. The mean and SD of pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) in cases with and without PAH were 36.81±6.08 and 19.80±2.78 mm Hg ; also, right ventricular systolic diameter (RVSD) and right ventricular diastolic diameter (RVDD) did not show a statistically significant difference in echocardiography. Hemoglobin (Hb) (P=0.146), hematocrit (HCT) (P=0.712), and platelet count did not show statistically significant differences. However, mean platelet volume (MPV), Platelet distribution width (PDW), and plateletcrit (PCT) in PAH cases were significantly higher than cases with normal pulmonary tension (P=0.0001). Also, our study showed a correlation between MPV, PCT, PDW, and PAH.Conclusion: Our study demonstrated a notable elevation in MPV and PDW among pediatric patients with PAH and identified a relationship between PDW and MPV in this patient population.