platelet count can predict grades of esophageal varices

Objective: To determine correlation between platelet count and grades of esophageal varices in patients with liver cirrhosis Background: Bleeding from esophageal varices is a life threatening complication in cirrhosis. Screening endoscopy is therefore recommended in cirrhotic patients to identify patients at risk of variceal hemorrhage. Screening endoscopy is however an invasive procedure and has limitations. Various clinical and biochemical predictors have been studied to predict the existence and grade of esophageal varices in cirrhotic patients. Thrombocytopenia (platelet count Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted at the Department of Medicine, POF Hospital, Wah Cantt from 1st October, 2017 to 30th May, 2018. Newly diagnosed cases of cirrhosis having varices of any grade on endoscopy were included in study. Endoscopic findings of patients were standardized by using Paquet grading system. On the basis of platelet count patients were divided into 4 sub groups. All data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 19.0. Platelet count groups were correlated with grading of esophageal varices by using Spearman rank correlations, p value ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. Chi Square test was used to see association between the platelet count and grade of esophageal varices, p value Results: Total 110 patients were included in the study, 55.5% (n=61) were male whereas 44.5% (n=49) were female. Mean age of the patient was 59.89 ± 9.01 years. Platelet count was 150,000/uL in 25.5% patients. Grade I esophageal varices were found in 23.6 % patients, whereas grade II, grade III and grade IV were found in 24.5%, 33.6% and 18.2% patients respectively. Mean Platelet count was 213884.62 /mm3 in patients with grade I varices, whereas it was 119518.52, 58386.49 an 21600.00 in patients with grade II,III and grade IV varices respectively (p value= Conclusion: Platelet count can predict the grade of esophageal varices in cirrhotic patients. There is significant negative correlation between the platelet count and grades of esophageal varices.