Abstract

Current concepts of the etiology, pathophysiology, clinical and laboratory diagnosis, and management of fulminant and low-grade DIC have been presented. Considerable attention has been devoted to interrelationships within the hemostasis system. Only by clearly understanding these pathophysiologic interrelationships can the clinician and laboratory scientist appreciate the divergent and wide spectrum of often confusing clinical and laboratory findings in patients with DIC. Many therapeutic decisions to be made are controversial and will remain so until more is published about specific therapeutic modalities and survival patterns. Also, therapy must be highly individualized depending on the nature of DIC, age, etiology of DIC, site and severity of hemorrhage or thrombosis, and hemodynamic and other clinical parameters. Many syndromes that are organ-specific share common pathophysiology with DIC but are typically identified as an independent disease entity, such as hemolytic uremic syndrome, adult shock-lung syndrome, eclampsia, and many other isolated "organ-specific" disorders.