ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE@#To study the reference ranges of platelet and related parameters within 24 hours after birth in preterm infants with different gestational ages.@*METHODS@#According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a retrospective analysis was performed for the chart review data of 1 070 preterm infants with a gestational age of 23-36 weeks who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit from January to December in 2018. The reference ranges of platelet parameters were calculated for the preterm infants within 24 hours after birth.@*RESULTS@#There were no significant differences in platelet count (PLT) and plateletcrit (PCT) among the preterm infants with different gestational ages (P>0.05). The late preterm infants (34-36 weeks; n=667) had significantly lower mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet distribution width (PDW) than the extremely preterm infants (23-27 weeks; n=36) and the early preterm infants (28-33 weeks; n=367) (P0.05). The reference ranges of platelet parameters in preterm infants were calculated based on gestational age. The reference ranges of PLT and PCT were (92-376)×10/L and 0.1%-0.394% respectively, for the preterm infants with a gestational age of 23-36 weeks. The reference ranges of MPV and PDW were 9.208-12.172 fl and 8.390%-16.407% respectively, for the preterm infants with a gestational age of 23-36 weeks; the reference ranges of MPV and PDW were 9.19-11.95 fl and 9.046%-15.116% respectively, for the preterm infants with a gestational age of 34-36 weeks.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The MPV and PDW of preterm infants with different gestational age are different within 24 hours after birth, and it is more helpful for clinical practice to formulate the reference range of MPV and PDW according to gestational age.