Mean Platelet Volume as a Diagnostic Marker of Acute Appendicitis in Children and Adolescents ? How useful it is?

Background: The clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis(AA) in children and adolescents is still problematic. Objectives: To evaluate the role of Mean Platelet Volume(MPV) in acute appendicitis in children and adolescents. Materials and methods: A retrospective study involving 52 test and 51 control individuals. The statistical analysis expressed as mean MPV ± standard deviation, independent ‘t’ test for calculating p values. Results: In the Group ‘T’ mean MPV was 7.48 and in Group ‘C’ was 8.02. The p value was 0.027 which is less than 0.05 indicating it was statistically significantly lower than the Group ‘C’. Conclusion: Current study indicated that MPV decreases significantly in AA group of children and adolescents. Hence we believe taking MPV into consideration will help in the diagnosis of suspected acute appendicitis in children and adolescents.