Mean Platelet Volume to Platelet ratio as a promising marker of hepatosteatosis

Aim: Hepatosteatosis confers increased lipid accumulation in the hepatocytes which is associated with inflammation. Hemogram parameters, such as mean platelet volume (MPV) and MPV to platelet ratio (MPR) are proposed as novel inflammatory markers in recent studies. We aimed to compare MPR of subjects with hepatosteatosis to those in healthy controls. Methods: Patient admissions to our clinic with a diagnosis of hepatosteatosis were retrospectively analyzed MPR values compared to those in healthy controls. Results: Mean MPR of hepatosteatosis group (0,04 ± 0,01fL/mm3) was significantly higher than the MPR of control subjects (0,03 ± 0,01 fL/mm3) (p=0.04). A Pearson's Correlation analyze was revealed significant correlations between MPR and fasting plasma glucose (r=0.26, p=0.004) and between MPR and LDL-cholesterol (r=0.19, p=0.04). Conclusion: An elevated MPR should alert physicians for hepatosteatosis in otherwise healthy subjects. Therefore, calculation of MPR by automatic hemogram analyzers is advised.