Fall of platelet count in children with traumatic brain injury: is it of value?

ABSTRACTObjectiveTrauma is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity among young age groups in Saudi Arabia and developed countries. This study aimed to evaluate the fall of platelet count in children with traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a potential predictor for clinical severity and outcome.MethodsTotally 74 patients with TBI were admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of our hospital from the beginning of January 2008 to the end of March 2010 (27 months). Baseline enrolling criteria were age 12 years, admission within 4 hours after trauma event, and abbreviated injury scale (AIS)(OR), 3.1; relative risk (RR), 2.15. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and Youden index showed that the optimum cutoff point of PFP was at 51.5%.ConclusionPFP is increased with the severity of TBI and it can be taken as a significant independent predicting factor for its outcome as well.