Immature Platelet Fraction: A Novel Hematological Parameter for Predicting Prognosis in Dengue Patients

Abstract

Introduction:

Dengue virus (DENV) is one of the major health concerns in Pakistan. In DENV infection the degree of thrombocytopenia determines the severity of the disease and is mainly used to as an indicator for platelet transfusion. Immature platelet fraction (IPF) is a new hematological parameter that measures reticulated platelets and directly measures thrombopoiesis. Therefore, the aim of our study is to evaluate IPF as an early recovery indicator of platelet count in dengue patients with thrombocytopenia.  

Materials and Methods:

This study was conducted at Chughtai Institute of Pathology, Lahore from October 2022 till December 2023. A total of 199 patients, with NS1 antigen were included in the study. IPF and total platelet count were measured by Sysmex XN 1000 on day 1 and day 5 of the infection. Trend of IPF as an early recovery indicator of platelet count was evaluated. Data was analyzed by using SPSS version 23.00. Paired sample t-Test was used to assess correlation between the two main variables.

Results:

Out of 199 patients, 104 (52.3%) were males and 95 (47.7%) were females. Mean age of the patients was 39 years. There was a strong correlation between IPF values and the recovery of total platelets. IPF values tended to be higher at low values of platelet counts (p<0.001) at Day 1 whereas IPF decreased on Day 5 with an increase in platelet count showing statistically significant correlation

Conclusion:

IPF is a good prognostic marker for recovery of platelets in DENV infection. It is a reliable and cost-effective tool that can help clinicians avoid unnecessary platelet transfusion.

Key words:

Dengue infection, Immature platelet fraction