Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation: A Clinical/Laboratory Correlation In 48 Patients

Abstract

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a frequent clinical entity spanning from a moderately severe bleeding disorder to a catastrophic, fulminant, and often fatal form usually associated with hemorrhage or, less commonly,as diffuse thromboses. The clinical and laboratory features of DIC remain confusing and controversial. To critically evaluate the usefulness of coagulation tests in aiding in the diagnosis and monitoring of therapy in DIC the clinical and laboratory findings were summarized in 48 patients with DIC. All patients were subjected to a prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (PTT), reptilase time (RT), thrombin time (TT), fibrin(ogen) degradation products (FDP), platelet count, protamine sulfate test (PSO4), fibrinogen determination, and biological antithrombin-III (AT-III) level at the time of diagnosis. In addition, these same laboratory modalities were used to monitor patients during and after therapy. In this series of 48 patients, 38 patients had acute DIC and 10 patients had chronic DIC. In those patients with acute DIC, 100% of patients presented with hemorrhage and 53% of patients had thrombosis; 26% of patients died of their DIC type syndrome. In those patients with chronic DIC, 100% presented with hemorrhage, 80% presented with thrombosis, and none died of their intravascular clotting process. The probability of a pre-treatment abnormality in acute DIC was: FDP > AT-III = platelet count PS04 > TT > PT > fibrinogen level > PTT > RT. The probability of pre-treatment abnormalties in chronic DIC was: FDP > PSO4 = PT > AT-III = RT platelet count fibrinogen level = TT. These studies suggest the FDP level, the AT-III level, PSO4, and fibrinogen level to be reliable for aiding in the diagnosis of acute DIC. In chronic DIC the fibrinogen level, PS04, PTT, and AT-III level appear to be the most reliable indicies.