Mean Platelet Volume as a surrogate marker of disease activity in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Mean Platelet Volume(MPV) is being increasingly studied in chronic inflammatory disease as a marker of inflammation. Our study aimed at studying it as a possible surrogate marker of disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE). The study was conducted for a period of 6 months from January 2014 to September 2014. It included both childhood and adult lupus and SLEDAI 2k was taken as a measure of disease activity. Mean platelet volume was assessed in 200 healthy controls, a cut off value of 9.48fL was taken with a sensitivity of 86 and specificity of 90. 150 SLE patients in remission were studied along with 50 SLE patients with disease flare. Patients with remission had MPV and ESR comparable to that of healthy controls whereas in active disease both MPV and ESR were significantly elevated to that of healthy controls. Serum complements C3, C4 were significantly lower in patients with active disease. MPV had a positive correlation with ESR and SLEDAI and negative correlation with complements. The study implied that MPV can be used as a surrogate marker of disease activity in SLE in resource limited settings