Disseminated intravascular coagulation in the urologic patient.

Gram-negative septicemia and metastatic prostatic cancer are frequent causes of disseminated intravascular coagulation. The clinical manifestations of this condition as well as the laboratory data vary considerably, depending on the patient's compensatory mechanisms in relation to the magnitude and duration of the thromboplastin or endotoxin release. Treatment centers primarily on correcting the underlying disorder. Secondly, deficient clotting factors and platelets should be replaced in the appropriate patient. Heparinization is often unnecessary. The use of drugs that inhibit the protective fibrinolytic mechanism is contraindicated in disseminated intravascular coagulation.