Study of the significance of platelet parameters in iron deficiency anemia cases

Anemia is a condition characterized by reduced concentrations of hemoglobin (Hb) in the blood below cut-off levels, and/or a diminished number of red blood cells (RBC or reticulocytes) according to age and gender. Iron deficiency anemia is the most common type of anemia and is diagnosed by serum iron panel studies. Platelet parameters usually altered in reactive mechanism. Reactive thrombocytosis is usually seen in iron deficiency anemia. Platelet indices like Mean Platelet volume (MPV) and Platelet Distribution Width (PDW) are raised during platelet activation. Plateletcrit (PCT) is an effective indicator for detecting platelet quantitative abnormalities. We aimed to study the significance of the platelet parameters in iron deficiency anemia cases. It is a prospective study conducted at Department of Pathology, Akshaya Health Care, Bangalore, India from January 2024 to April 2024. A total of 100 samples were studied, out of which, 50 were confirmed cases of iron deficiency anaemia and 50 were controls with normal haemogram (obtained from samples for general health check up requests from normal individual). Platelet parameters were analysed in both the groups. Data with continuous variables are presented as mean ± SD. Comparison of group means was done with student's t- test. P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. The difference in mean platelet count, MPV, PDW and PCT between iron deficiency anemia cases and control was found to be statistically significant (p < 0.05). We concluded that there was a significant relationship between platelets parameters in microcytic hypochromic anemia.