Abstract:

Objective: Inflammation markers increase during Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) attacks and often return to normal within a few days. It is known that a subclinical inflammation continues in FMF patients in the inter-episode period, which increases the risk of developing amyloidosis. In recent years, several works have been conducted showing the relationship between platelet indices and inflammation, such as platelet count (PLT), platelet distribution width (PDW), mean platelet volume (MPV), plateletrite (PCT). In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between platelet indices and disease severity in FMF patients without attacks. Method: The records of all FMF patients followed by us were reviewed retrospectively. Patients with a hematological or oncological disease, patients with data deficiency for the study, and patients under 18 years of age were excluded. While the laboratory data were recorded, the condition of patients to be at least 3 months without attack was required. As the control group, the automation records of all healthcare professionals working in the internal medicine clinic of our hospital were examined. Our clinical staff, who did not have chronic diseases and regular drug use, were taken as a healthy control group. 173 patients and 20 control groups who met the conditions mentioned above were included in the study. Platelet indices were compared between patient and control groups. Results: It was determined that the value of MPV, one of the platelet indices, in the patient group was statistically significantly higher than the value in the healthy control group (p = 0.029). MPV was also found to correlate with disease severity (p <0.001 r = 0.329). Discussion-Conclusion: In our study, it was determined that MPV was higher in FMF patients in the subclinical period compared to healthy controls and also correlated with disease severity. Studies investigating platelet indices and the risk of developing amyloidosis are needed in FMF patients.

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