Dear Editor

We thank Dr. Behnam Shakiba for his recent interest in our article that evaluated mean platelet volume before and after renal transplant as a potential predictor of renovascular thrombosis.¹ He asked for the method of blood sampling for measuring mean platelet volume in our study.

More relevant has been reporting of the choice of anticoagulant, measurement time, and temperature when the mean platelet volume is analyzed. In general, for all hematologic laboratory tests and cell counting, the whole blood sample must be anticoagulated to inhibit coagulation before measurement.² Previously, it was suggested that using tubes with a high concentration of sodium citrate would obtain more reliable measures of mean platelet volume.³ However, this recommendation did not meet our practice demands. Instead, most laboratories, as in our institution, continue to rely on ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid as the standard hematologic anticoagulant because of its shorter processing times.⁴ It has been shown that mean platelet volume values are independent of the anticoagulation with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid or citrate, if the measurement is done within 1 hour of sampling.⁵ In accord with this recommendation, full blood counts of all the patients in our institution are routinely measured with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid K3 within 15 minutes after venipuncture.

References:

1. Sakallı H, Baskın E, Bayrakçı US, Gülleroğlu KS, Moray G, Haberal M. Mean platelet volume as a potential predictor of renovascular thrombosis after renal transplant. Exp Clin Transplant. 2013;11(1):27-31.
   CrossRef - PubMed
2. Lancé MD, Sloep M, Henskens YM, Marcus MA. Mean platelet volume as a diagnostic marker for cardiovascular disease: drawbacks of preanalytical conditions and measuring techniques. Clin Appl Thromb Hemost. 2012;18(6):561-568. Doi: 10.1177/1076029612458147.
   CrossRef - PubMed
3. Bath PM. The routine measurement of platelet size using sodium citrate alone as the anticoagulant. Thromb Haemost. 1993;70(4):687-690.
   PubMed
4. Diaz-Ricart M, Brunso L, Pino M, et al. Preanalytical treatment of EDTA-anticoagulated blood to ensure stabilization of the mean platelet volume and component measured with the ADVIA counters. Thromb Res. 2010;126(1):e30-e35. doi: 10.1016/j.thromres.2010.04.002.
   CrossRef - PubMed
5. Dastjerdi MS, Emami T, Najafian A, Amini M. Mean platelet volume measurement, EDTA or citrate? Hematology. 2006;11(5):317-319.
   CrossRef - PubMed