Platelet distribution width as an useful indicator of influenza severity in children

• Published in: BMC infectious diseases Vol. 24; no. 1; p. 9
• Main Authors: Zou, Seyin, Mohtar, Siti Hasmah, Othman, Roshani, Hassan, Rodiah Mohd, Liang, Kun, Lei, Da, Xu, Bangming
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 02.01.2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Antigens; Blood platelets; Bronchitis; Cell number; Child; Children; Demographic aspects; Development and progression; Evaluation; Fever; Hospitals; Humans; Illnesses; Infections; Infectious diseases; Inflammation; Influenza; Influenza A; Influenza B; Influenza, Human - diagnosis; Laboratories; Leukocyte Count; Leukocytes (neutrophilic); Lymphocytes; Mean Platelet Volume; Measurement; Mortality; Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; Neutrophils; Parameters; Patients; Platelet Count; Platelet distribution width; Platelet parameters; Platelets; Pneumonia; Retrospective Studies; Risk factors; ROC Curve; Severity assessment; Viruses; China; Taiwan; Severity assessment; Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; Platelet parameters; Influenza; Platelet distribution width
• ISSN: 1471-2334; 1471-2334
• DOI: 10.1186/s12879-023-08890-w

The present study aims to investigate the potential of platelet distribution width as an useful parameter to assess the severity of influenza in children. Baseline characteristics and laboratory results were collected and analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to joint detection of inflammatory markers for influenza positive children, and the scatter-dot plots were used to compare the differences between severe and non-severe group. Influenza B positive children had more bronchitis and pneumonia (P < 0.05), influenza A infected children had more other serious symptoms (P = 0.007). Neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet parameters performed differently among < 4 years and ≥ 4 years children with influenza. Combined detection of platelet parameters and other indicators could better separate healthy children from influenza infected children than single indicator detection. The levels of platelet distribution width of children with severe influenza (A and B) infection was significantly dropped, compared with non-severe group (P < 0.05). Platelet distribution width could be a very useful and economic indicator in distinction and severity assessment for children with influenza.