Correlation of Severity of Esophageal Varices with Platelet Count in Patients Of Chronic Liver Disease

The objective of this study was to ascertain if the platelet count of individuals with decompensated CLD and the grading of their esophageal varices were correlated.

This study used non-probability purposive sampling to undertake a descriptive cross-sectional analysis. There were 150 individuals with decompensated liver cirrhosis in all. Each patient received an endoscopy to grade their
esophageal varices, and a platelet count was performed on each one. The spearman's rank-C correlation approach was utilized to establish correlation.

38.3% of patients with platelets count < 50,000/mm3 and 61.7% of patients with third grade esophageal varices were found in this group of patients. Of the patients whose platelet counts ranged from 51,000 to 99,000/mm3, 28.1% had second-grade esophageal varices, and 40.6% had third-grade varices. In patients with a platelet count between 100,000 and 149,00/mm3, second- and third-grade esophageal varices affected 17.9% and 23.1% of patients, respectively. With a p-value of less than 0.001, the Spearman's rank correlation test showed a negative relationship between platelet count and esophageal varices' grading.

This research shows a statistically significant negative correlation between the grading of esophageal varices and platelet count. As a result, in scenarios when endoscopic resources are unavailable, the platelet count could serve as a predictor of esophageal varices.