ObjectiveTo explore whether platelet activation is associated with systemic inflammatory responses. MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study to enroll all aortic dissection (AD) patients (AD group) from January 1, 2015 to June 30, 2015 in the Emergency Department. According to the characteristics of AD patients, we matched hypertension (hypertension group) and health participants (health group) with AD patients at a proportion of 1:1:1. Blood samples were collected on admission for blood routine test [mean platelet volume (MPV)/platelet (PLT)] and inflammatory cytokines [tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6] analysis. We compared all parameters among the three groups and performed bivariate correlation analyses. ResultsExpressions of TNF-α and IL-6 in the AD group [(20.9±4.5), (168.8±75.1) pg/mL] were significantly higher than those in the hypertension group [(4.3±1.9), (8.4±2.9) pg/mL] and healthy group [(5.4±1.6), (8.7±3.8) pg/mL] (P＜0.05). MPV/PLT in the AD group was significantly higher than that in the hypertension group and healthy group (0.106±0.035 vs 0.049±0.010, P＜0.05; 0.106±0.035 vs 0.054±0.019, P＜0.05). There were positive correlations between MPV/PLT and TNF-α (r=0.516, P=0.002), and between MPV/PLT and IL-6 (r=0.633, P＜0.001) in the AD group. ConclusionIn summary, our study shows that platelets of AD patients can be activated, and the degree of activation is associated with systemic inflammatory responses.