The aim of the present study was to provide novel laboratory indexes for infectious mononucleosis (IM) in pediatric patients. In the present prospective study, a total of 141 pediatric patients with IM and 146 healthy subjects were enrolled. The white blood cell count (WBC), red blood cell count (RBC), hemoglobin (HB), platelet count (PLT), mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT), uric acid (UA), urea, creatinine, total cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides (TG) in peripheral blood were evaluated. WBC, ALT, AST, GGT, UA, TG, MPV and the MPV/PLT ratio in the patients were significantly higher compared with those in the controls (P<0.01), while RBC, HB, urea, TC, PLT and PDW were significantly lower in the patients (P<0.05 for PDW and P<0.01 for others). Regression analysis under stepwise adjustment indicated that PLT and MPV/PLT were significantly associated with IM (P<0.01). Furthermore, MPV/PLT was positively correlated with ALT, AST, GGT, UA and TC (P≤0.01). In the receiver operating characteristic analysis, a sensitivity of 83.7% and specificity of 76.0% regarding the prediction of IM in pediatric patients using the MPV/PLT ratio was achieved at the cutoff of MPV/PLT(%)=3.42. In conclusion, the MPV/PLT ratio may be a novel diagnostic indicator for pediatric IM and indirectly predict damage to liver function.
Keywords: Epstein-Barr virus; hepatic dysfunction; infectious mononucleosis; mean platelet volume; mean platelet volume-to-platelet count ratio.
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