Review Article

Year : 2021 | Volume : 5 | Issue : 2 | Page : 31 - 34

Recent advances in platelet distribution width

Sheetal Kumari, R. Priyadharshini, Sinduja Palati

Department of Pathology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Address for correspondence:

Dr. R. Priyadharshini, Department of Pathology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai ‐ 600 007, Tamil Nadu, India.

E‐mail: priyadharshinir.sdc@saveetha.com

Abstract

Platelet distribution width (PDW) is a regular parameter in blood routine examination which reflects the variation of platelet size distribution with a range from 8.3% to 56.6%. PDW is a measure of platelet anisocytosis dependent on individual platelet volume distribution. Thrombocrit (or plateletcrit) is the percentage of blood volume occupied by platelets and is an assessment of circulating platelet mass. Platelets in whole blood can be detected using the same electrical or electro-optical measurement methods that are being used to count red cells. Platelets must be separated from red cells using an upper threshold, whereas debris and electrical noise must be separated using a lower threshold. Many recent advancements in terms of PDW have been demonstrated in this research. First, it was tested whether the PDW was based on both mean platelet volume and Platelet (Thrombocyte) count Test (PLT) in a population of patients with high PLTs. In the second stage, we looked into whether combining these three parameters could help differentiate between patients with reactive and autonomous thrombocytosis. Other studies are needed to validate these preliminary findings, and they should be expanded to include PDW tested on other automated blood counters.

Keywords: Innovative technique, mean platelet volume, platelet count, platelet distribution width platelets, thrombocythemia

Financial support and sponsorship

The present project is supported by

● Jeevan clinic

● Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences

● Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals,

● Saveetha University.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

How to cite this article:

Kumari S, Priyadharshini R, Palati S. Recent advances in platelet distribution width. Int J Clinicopathol Correl 2021;5:31-4.