Prospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Nov 28, 2016; 8(33): 1466-1470
Published online Nov 28, 2016. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v8.i33.1466
Can platelet count/spleen diameter ratio be used for cirrhotic children to predict esophageal varices?
Oya Balci Sezer, Deniz Çelik, Nihal Tutar, Figen Özçay
Oya Balci Sezer, Figen Özçay, Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Baskent University, 06540 Ankara, Turkey
Deniz Çelik, Department of Child Health and Diseases, Baskent University, 06540 Ankara, Turkey
Nihal Tutar, Department of Radiology, Baskent University, 06540 Ankara, Turkey
Author contributions: Sezer OB and Özçay F designed the manuscript; Sezer OB, Çelik D and Özçay F collected the data; Sezer OB and Özçay F substantially contributed to the conception or design; Tutar N performed all of the ultrasonographic examinations; Sezer OB wrote the manuscript; Sezer OB and Özçay F gave final approval and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring that questions relating to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Baskent University.
Clinical trial registration statement: Study registration information number of our study is KA11/11252.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: None of authors has any conflict of interest to disclose.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Oya Balci Sezer, MD, Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Baskent University, Baglica Kampusu Eskisehir Yolu, 20 km Baglıca, 06540 Ankara, Turkey. oyabalci@yahoo.com
Telephone: +90-533-6915083 Fax: +90-312-3569002
Received: July 19, 2016
Peer-review started: July 21, 2016
First decision: September 2, 2016
Revised: September 10, 2016
Accepted: October 5, 2016
Article in press: October 9, 2016
Published online: November 28, 2016
Abstract
AIM

To determine the laboratory and radiologic parameters, including the platelet count (PC)-to-spleen diameter (SD) ratio as a non-invasive marker that may predict the presence of esophageal varices (EV) in children with cirrhosis.

METHODS

Eighty-nine patients with cirrhosis, but without a history of variceal bleeding were prospectively included. The children were grouped into 6-12 and 12-18 years of age groups. These groups were also divided into 2 sub-groups (presence and absence of EV). All of the patients underwent a complete biochemical and radiologic evaluation. The PC (n/mm3)-to-SD (mm) ratio was calculated for each patient.

RESULTS

Sixty-nine of 98 (70.4%) patients had EV. The presence of ascites in all age groups was significantly associated with the presence of EV. There were no differences in serum albumin levels, PC, SD and the PC-to-SD ratio between the presence and absence of EV groups in both age groups (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Laboratory and radiologic parameters, including the PC-to-SD ratio as a non-invasive marker (except for the presence of ascites), was inappropriate for detecting EV in children with cirrhosis.

Keywords: Esophageal varices, Variceal bleeding, Platelet count-to-spleen diameter ratio, Children

Core tip: Laboratory and radiologic parameters, including the platelet count (PC)-to-spleen diameter (SD) ratio were investigated in children with cirrhosis as a non-invasive marker that may predict the presence of esophageal varices (EV). This study is the first study to assess the PC-to-SD ratio in children with cirrhosis for detecting EV according to age groups This study demonstrated that the parameters, other than the presence of ascites, were inappropriate for detecting EV in children with cirrhosis.