Platelet profile in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus

Objective: To evaluate and compare the platelet profile of pregnant women with gestational diabetes and normal pregnancy and to assess the changes in the platelet profiles of gestational diabetes patients before and after 8-10 days of their treatment. Methods: A prospective study was performed on 70 pregnant women between 24 – 28 weeks of their pregnancy: 30 cases with gestational diabetes and 40 healthy controls. The two groups were compared in terms of demographics and platelet parameters derived from complete blood counts and the effect of treatment on platelet parameters of gestational diabetes. Results: A significant difference was observed for mean platelet volume values between the gestational diabetes mellitus and normal pregnant groups (p<0.0001) and also between the mean platelet volume values in the gestational diabetes mellitus group before and after their treatment (p<0.0001). Conclusion: Elevated mean platelet volume can be used as an effective marker for the assessment of glycemic control in gestational diabetes mellitus.