To determine the correlation between mean platelet count and frequency of grading of esophageal varices in patients of liver cirrhosis.

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the correlation between mean platelet count and grading of esophageal varices in patients of liver cirrhosis. Study Design: Cross Sectional study. Settings: Department of Medicine, DHQ Hospital (FMU) &AFM&DC Faisalabad. Period: 17th August 2019 to 16^th February 2020. Material & Methods: A total of 105 patients liver cirrhosis with esophageal varices were included in the study according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. For assessment of platelet count 2ml blood sample was sent to hospital pathology laboratory and it was reported by the pathologist. Upper GI endoscopy was performed by gastroenterologist for confirmation and grading of oesophageal varices. Results: In our study, it was observed that 04 (3.81%) patients had grade- I EV, 34 (32.38%) Grade-II, 39 (37.14%) Grade III, 15 (14.29%) Grade IV and 13 (12.38%) patients had Grade V esophageal varices. While correlating the mean platelet count and grading of esophageal varices in patients of liver cirrhosis, it was observed that the mean platelet count of the patients with Grade-I EV was 149000± 26000, platelet count in patients with Grade-II EV was 122000 ± 26000, platelet count in patients with Grade-III EV was 100000 ± 23000, platelet count in patients with Grade-IV EV was 98000 ± 26000 and platelet count in patients with Grade-V EV was 94000 ± 22000 with correlation r value of 0.370 and p-value of 0.0001 which is statistically significant. Conclusion: This study concluded that there is inverse correlation between mean platelet count and grades of esophageal varices in patients of liver cirrhosis.