Platelet indices and varicocele: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

The updated systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to assess the platelet indices between patients with varicocele and healthy subject. The main purpose of our study was to explore the relationship between platelet and the pathogenesis of varicocele. Databases including Cochrane Library, PubMed, and MEDLINE were retrieved to identify studies. Two independent investigators extracted the related information of the included original passages. In order to estimate the difference of varicocele patients and healthy subjects, we applied the standardised mean difference (SMD) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). 1,156 patients and 797 healthy subjects of nine studies met the pre-set inclusion criteria. The estimated SMD in MPV between varicocele patients and healthy subjects was 0.61 (95% CI: 0.29–0.93, p < 0.001). The estimated SMD in MPV between preoperative varicocele patients and post-operative varicocele patients was 0.22 (95% CI: 0.03–0.41, p = 0.02). The estimated SMD in PLT between varicocele patients and healthy subjects was −0.19 (95% CI: −0.28, −0.08, p = 0.001). The available data suggest that a higher MPV level in varicocele patients, and the varicocele operation can normalise the preoperatively elevated mean platelet volume levels. Further researches are needed to investigate the potential role of platelet with varicocele.