Disseminated intravascular coagulation: a clinical/laboratory study of 48 patients.

In summary, this series of 48 patients with acute and chronic DIC demonstrates the reliability of laboratory tests in both aiding a diagnosis of DIC and in offering reasonable predictability of efficacy of therapy, as noted by the correction of abnormalities after delivery of antiprocoagulant therapy for this syndrome. It appears that the diagnostic tests most likely to aid in diagnosis and to reliably inform the clinician when the intravascular clotting process has been stopped are those that determine the antithrombin-III level, the presence of soluble fibrin monomer, and the finding of elevated fibrin(ogen) degradation products, thrombocytopenia and a prolonged thrombin time in the face of the appropriate type of bleeding in the appropriate clinical setting. In addition, it would appear that mini-dose heparin therapy is highly effective in controlling the intravascular clotting process in acute DIC, whereas antiplatelet therapy utilizing two agents is effective in chronic DIC. In addition, in this population, patients with acute disease demonstrated a 74 percent survival rate and those with chronic disease had a 100 percent survival rate from the disseminated intravascular clotting process.