ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the diagnostic importance of mean platelet volume (MPV) on acute pulmonary embolism (APE) in the emergency Department (ED). METHODS: Subjects were selected from patients admitted to ED with clinically suspected APE. Demographic, anthropometric and serologic data were collected for each patient. RESULTS: A total of 315 consecutive patients were analyzed, including 150 patients (53.44 ± 15.14 y; 92 men/58 women) in APE group and 165 patients (49.80 ±13.76y; 94 men/71 women) in the control group. MPV in the APE group was significantly higher than in the control group (9.42±1.22 fl vs. 8.04±0.89 fl, p<0.0001). The best cut-off values for MPV when predicting APE in patients with clinically suspected APE presenting at the ED were 8.55 fl (sensitivity 82.2%; specificity 52.3%). CONCLUSIONS: MPV is a helpful parameter for the diagnosis of APE in ED, for the first time in the literature.