Background: Mean platelet volume (MPV) is a measurement defining the mean size of platelets in the blood. There has been no previous study of MPV and the level of platelets in lumbago/sciatica patients.
Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate whether or not an increase is seen in platelet count and MPV which are indicators of platelet activation in lumbago/sciatica patients compared to a healthy control group.
Patients and methods: The study included 151 patients (79 females, 72 males, mean age 43.1 ± 12.9 years) who presented at the Pain Clinic of our hospital and were diagnosed with lumbago/sciatica between July 2017 and September 2017. A control group was formed of 80 healthy individuals (40 females, 40 males, mean age 42.4 ± 12.5 years).
Results: No statistically significant difference was determined in the MPV of the lumbago/sciatica patients (9.76 ± 1.09 fL) compared with the control group (9.56 ± 0.92 fL) (P = 0.34). The platelet level of lumbago/sciatica patients (263.3 ± 68.7 103/mL) was determined to be statistically significantly lower than that of the control group (277.27 ± 70.7 103/mL) (P = 0.02).
Conclusion: The results revealed that the platelet count of the lumbago/sciatica patients was lower than that of the control group while no statistically significant increase was determined in MPV. These findings may show platelet activation that is not statistically significant in lumbago/sciatica patients.
Keywords: Lumbago/sciatica; mean platelet volume platelet count; platelet activation.