Abstract:

Aim: Brucellosis is an important infectious disease in Turkey and our region. Mean platelet volume(MPV) is a marker of platelet function, production, and activation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relation between epidemiological characteristics of brucellosis patients and MPV and other inflammatory markers. Material and Methods: Brucellosis patients hospitalized for monitoring at the Infectious Diseases Clinic in 2007-2015 were included in the study. One hundred patients with positive tube agglutination tests and/or with bone marrow culture growth, and 100 controls group without diagnosis of brucellosis were enrolled. Patients’ MPV, sedimentation, and CRP values were compared with those of the controls. Results: Men constituted 64% of the patients were men, and the mean age of the patient group was 37.33±16.88 years. The control group consisted of 62% men, with a mean age of 40.35±15.46. There was no statistically significant difference between patients and controls in terms of age or sex. CRP, MPV, and sedimentation were significantly higher in patients with brucellosis than in the controls.  Conclusion: MPV is novel, low cost, easily applied marker. It may be of greater value when assessed together with other inflammatory markers. Our findings suggest that MPV values may be a useful inflammation marker and prognostic factor in brucellosis patients.

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