Gut Liver.  2018 Jul;12(4):420-425. 10.5009/gnl17236.

An Elevated Platelet Count Increases the Risk of Relapse in Ulcerative Colitis Patients with Mucosal Healing

• Nakarai A
• Kato J
• Hiraoka S
• Takashima
• Inokuchi T
• Takahara M
• Sugihara Y
• Harada K
• Okada H

• KMID: 2417308
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5009/gnl17236

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Although mucosal healing (MH) has been considered a treatment goal for patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), the risk factors predictive of relapse in patients who achieve MH are unknown. Because the platelet count has been shown to be a marker of inflammation in inflammatory bowel diseases, this study aimed to assess whether the platelet count could predict relapse in UC patients with MH.
METHODS
A prospective observational study was performed. UC patients with MH were consecutively enrolled in the study and monitored for at least 2 years or until relapse. The correlation between the incidence of relapse and the platelet count at the time of study enrollment was examined.
RESULTS
In total, 43 patients were enrolled, and 14 patients (33%) relapsed. The median platelet count at the time of enrollment in the patients who relapsed significantly differed from that in the patients who did not relapse (27.2×104/μL vs 23.8×104/μL, respectively; p=0.016). A platelet count >25.0×104/μL was a significant risk factor for relapse based on a multivariate analysis (hazard ratio, 4.85; 95% confidence interval, 1.07 to 25.28), and according to the Kaplan-Meier analysis, this cutoff could identify patients susceptible to relapse (p=0.041, log-rank test).
CONCLUSIONS
The platelet count could be used as a predictor of relapse in UC patients with MH.

Keyword

Colitis; ulcerative; Mucosal healing; Platelet count; Recurrence

MeSH Terms

Blood Platelets*
Colitis
Colitis, Ulcerative*
Humans
Incidence
Inflammation
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Kaplan-Meier Estimate
Multivariate Analysis
Observational Study
Platelet Count*
Prospective Studies
Recurrence*
Risk Factors
Ulcer*