Objective: This study aims to investigate whether mean platelet volume (MPV) is correlated with the CURB-65 (Confusion, Urea, Respiratory rate, Blood pressure, >65 years of age) score, and whether a combination of the CURB-65 score with MPV could better predict the 28-day mortality in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).
Methods: This prospective, observational, single-center, and cross-sectional study was conducted at emergency department (ED) between September 1, 2013, and July 31, 2014. All patients underwent follow-up evaluations 28 days after admission. The end point was defined as all-cause mortality.
Results: A total of 174 patients (mean age, 66.7 ± 15.8 years; 66.1% men) with CAP were enrolled in this study. All-cause mortality at the 28-day follow-up evaluation was 16.1%. A significant and inverse correlation between MPV and CURB-65 score was found (R = -.58, P < .001). We determined that the optimal MPV cutoff for predicting 28-day mortality at the time of ED admission was 8.55 fL, with a 75.0% sensitivity and a 75.3% specificity. For the prediction of 28-day mortality, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.819 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.740-0.898; P < .001) when the CURB-65 score was used alone, whereas it increased to 0.895 (95% CI, 0.819-0.936; P < .001) with the addition of MPV to the score.
Conclusions: Mean platelet volume level is valuable for predicting mortality and the severity of disease among patients with CAP at ED admission. Furthermore, a combination of CURB-65 score and MPV can enhance the predictive accuracy of 28-day mortality.
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