Patient education: Disseminated intravascular coagulation (The Basics)

What is disseminated intravascular coagulation? — 

Disseminated intravascular coagulation, or "DIC," is a serious condition that can cause bleeding, clotting, or both.

It is most likely to happen in people with certain conditions, including:

●Sepsis – This is a serious illness that happens with a bloodstream infection.

●Certain cancers – The ones most likely to cause DIC are:

•Pancreatic cancer

•Stomach cancer

•Brain tumors

•Ovarian cancer

•A kind of blood cancer called "acute promyelocytic leukemia"

●A severe injury like a serious car accident

●A complication of pregnancy (very rarely)

What are the symptoms of DIC? — 

People with DIC are often very sick. Common symptoms include:

●Bleeding – The most common type of bleeding is oozing from cuts where an IV is placed. (An IV is a thin tube that goes into a vein.) People can also bleed under the skin or inside the body. Bleeding under the skin can cause large bruises or a rash of red or purple spots that are not painful and do not go away when touched.

●Blood clots – These can form in and damage different organs in the body. Depending on the part of the body involved, symptoms might include:

•Swelling, redness, or pain in the leg

•Trouble breathing, or chest pain when you take a deep breath

●Symptoms related to the condition that caused DIC, such as confusion, trouble thinking clearly, or going into a coma

Is there a test for DIC? — 

There are several tests that can help a doctor decide if a person might have DIC. But there is no 1 test that can tell for sure. To check for DIC, the doctor will look at a person's medical condition and do blood tests that measure blood clotting.

How is DIC treated? — 

The most important treatment for DIC is to treat the condition that caused the DIC.

After that, treatment depends on a person's symptoms. Most people do not need other treatment.

People who are bleeding might be treated with:

●Platelet transfusions – Platelets are normal blood cells that help blood to clot.

●Clotting factors – Clotting factors are natural proteins that help blood to clot.

People with blood clots might be treated with a medicine to prevent blood clots. These medicines are also called "anticoagulants." Some people call them "blood thinners," but they do not actually thin the blood.

More on this topic

Patient education: Sepsis in adults (The Basics)
Patient education: D-dimer test (The Basics)