Plateletcrit, mean platelet volume, platelet distribution width: its expected values and correlation with parallel red blood cell parameters.

The quantitation of platelets in peripheral blood is a well-recognized tool. Recently, new indices related to erythrocytes and platelet counts have been provided by hematologic analyzers. Concerning the platelet parameter, the three important parameters are plateletcrit (PCT), mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW). The purpose of the study is to investigate these three parameters to define their expected values and the correlation with the parallel red blood cell parameters, hematocrit (HCT), mean corpuscular volumer (MCV), and red blood cell distribution width (RDW). Blood samples form 215 volunteers were analyzed for platelet parameters using Technicon H*3. The average (mean +/- SD) values obtained with expected ranges were PCT 0.24 +/- 0.05% (range, 0.23-0.24%), MPV 12.79 +/- 5.91 fL (range, 12.39-13.19 fL), and PDW 46.79 +/- 2.70% (range, 46.61-46.97%). Concerning the correlation between PCT, MPV, and RDW and their parallel red blood cell parameters, there was no significant correlation between PCT and HCT, and between MPV and MCV. However, there was a significant correlation between PDW and RDW. It seems that the anisocytosis of red blood cells and platelets might co-occur. However, these data are basic observations; further in-depth evaluation of the platelet parameters is recommended.