Mean platelet volume is a marker of inflammation but not a marker of disease activity in children with juvenile SLE
Abstract Aim of the work To study the mean platelet volume (MPV) in children with juvenile onset SLE (Jo SLE) and whether MPV can be used as a biologic marker for disease activity or flare. Patients and methods Twenty nine patients from the rheumatology outpatient clinic, Pediatric Cairo University Hospitals and age 36 and gender matched healthy controls were included in the study. The MPV was determined within 4 h of blood sampling in all study populations. Recent routine laboratory investigations for Jo SLE patients were obtained. Disease activity was estimated using SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) Results 29 Jo SLE patients had a mean age of 12.8 2.9 years and disease duration of 3.5 3 year. The most frequent clinical manifestations were photosensitivity, malar rash, followed by arthritis and serositis. The MPV in Jo SLE patients was 8.2 2.1 femtoliters (fL) compared with 5.6 0.9 fL in healthy controls (p Conclusion Results of the present study confirm the association between MPV and inflammation, but do not support the use of MPV as an indicator for monitoring disease activity or flare in juvenile SLE. Further longitudinal studies with larger numbers of patients are warranted to unveil the possibility of using MPV as a biologic marker of disease activity.