The Impact of HIV on the Profile of Paediatric Admissions and Deaths at Hospital,

percentage of change in PLTs ( p50.05). Although there was an increase in MPV and PDW from baseline, there were no differences between groups. In the Guida, et al. study, MPV displayed an increase in comparison to baseline values in patients with septic VLBW. However, changes specific to organisms were not observed. O’Connor, et al. established a higher MPV value in spite of normal PLT in patients with CONS sepsis. PDW increased in 71 per cent of their patients with Gram-positive sepsis and 75 per cent of patients with Gram-negative sepsis. In this study it was demonstrated that there might be quantitative, if not statistical, differences in platelet response to infection with the two major groups of organisms causing sepsis in newborns. Sepsis was frequently associated with thrombocytopenia and an elevation in MPV and especially PDW. Further studies with a larger population are needed to determine the effects of different infectious agents on PLT and indices.

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