Mean platelet volume and coronary plaque vulnerability: an optical coherence tomography study in patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome

The association between mean platelet volume (MPV) and coronary plaque vulnerability in patients with non-ST-elevation ACS (NSTE-ACS) has not been investigated. We performed a retrospective study to evaluate the association between MPV and plaque vulnerability using optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Consecutive NSTE-ACS patients who underwent pre-intervention OCT examination in our center were included in this study. Features of coronary plaques in the culprit arteries were classified as rupture, nonrupture with thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA), and nonrupture and non-TCFA. ROC analyses were used to determine the predictive efficacy of MPV for plaque rupture, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the potential independent predictors of plaque vulnerability.

Overall, 94 patients were included in this study. We identified 17 patients with plaque rupture, 10 with nonrupture with TCFA, and 67 with nonrupture and non-TCFA. ROC analyses showed that MPV ≥ 10.5 fL was predictive of plaque rupture in NSTE-ACS patients. Univariate analyses indicated that patients with higher MPV (≥ 10.5 fL) had higher body mass index and poorer lipid profiles compared to those with lower MPV. Moreover, those with higher MPV had higher incidences of plaque rupture and thrombosis (both P < 0.05). Results of multivariate analyses showed that diabetes and higher platelet distribution width (PDW) were independent risk factors of TCFA (P = 0.032 and 0.046, respectively), while diabetes, higher BMI, higher PDW, and higher MPV were independent determinants of plaque rupture in our cohorts (P all < 0.05).

Higher MPV is independently associated with higher risk of plaque rupture as evidenced by OCT in our cohort of NSTE-ACS patients.