IOSR Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences (IOSR-JDMS) e-ISSN: 2279-0853, p-ISSN: 2279-0861.Volume 19, Issue 12 Ser.1 (December. 2020), PP 38-43 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/0853-1912013843 www.iosrjournal.org 38 | Page A Study of Correlation between Platelet Count and Severity of Esophageal Varices in Patients with Chronic Liver Disease Dr. Divya S 1 , Dr. Nagarajan K 2 , Dr. Thirumal P 3 1 (Postgraduate, Department of General Medicine, Sri ManakulaVinayagar Medical College and Hospital, Puducherry, India) 2 (Professor, Department of General Medicine, Sri ManakulaVinayagar Medical College and Hospital, Puducherry, India) 3 (Assistant Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, Sri ManakulaVinayagar Medical College and Hospital, Puducherry, India) Abstract: Background: Esophageal varices are one of the most dreadful complications of cirrhosis of liver. They are diagnosed using endoscopy which is invasive and not easily available. There is a need for a more affordable parameter to screen for esophageal varices. One of the other manifestation of portal hypertension is thrombocytopenia. Objectives: 1. To determine the correlation between platelet count and severity of esophageal varices in chronic liver disease patients. 2. To assess the clinical profile of patients with chronic liver disease Materials and methods: This was a retrospective record based studyconducted in a tertiary care hospital with a sample size of 77. History, physical examination findings, endoscopic and laboratory findings were taken from patient’s records. Child Pugh and MELD Score were used to assess the severity of liver disease patients. Spearman’s correlation test was used to find out correlation between platelet count and severity of esophageal varices. Results Among 77 participants,83.1% were male and 16.9% were females. Mean age was 46.68±8.86 years. About 59.7% had history of jaundice, 76.6% are regular alcohol consumers, and 77.9% had ascites. According to Child Pugh score, 11.7% belonged to Class A and 50.6% belonged to Class C. Nearly 40.3% and 31.1% had grade 2 and grade 3 varices respectively. Inverse correlation was found between platelet count and severity of esophageal varices (r-0.306, p value-0.007). Conclusion Severity of esophageal varices correlates inversely with platelet count. Hence, platelet countmaybe usedas a cost effective screening tool for varices assessment. Keyword: Thrombocytopenia, Endoscopy, Correlation, Cirrhosis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Submission: 20-11-2020 Date of Acceptance: 06-12-2020 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction Cirrhosis of liver causesportal hypertension which leads to dilatation of portal vein, splenomegaly, ascites and formation of porto-systemic collaterals. 1-3 Around 60%-80% of such patients develop esophageal varices which has high mortality rates. 4,5 Prevention of esophageal variceal bleeding is the prime objective in Cirrhosis management. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy is considered as the best screening tool for varices. But endoscopy is an expensiveand invasive procedure. 6 In order to overcome these issues, platelet count can be used as a non-invasive screening tool. 7 With this background, this study was conducted to correlate whether thrombocytopenia is a good indicator of large esophageal varices in chronic liver disease patients. II. Materials and methods Study Design: Retrospective record based study Study Location: This study was carried out in the Departments of General Medicine and Gastroenterology of Sri ManakulaVinayagar Medical College and Hospital, located in the rural Pondicherry. Study Duration: This study included patients who were admitted from January 2019 to January 2020.