Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation: A Single Center Experience

INTRODUCTION: We aimed to evaluate the clinical and demographic data of adult patients diagnosed with acute disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) who had been referred to the hematology unit by other clinics, as well as to evaluate the effect of clinical and laboratory parameters on patient survival.
METHODS: The records of 87 adult patients admitted to the Department of Hematology of Yuzuncu Yil University Faculty of Medicine between January 2013 and May 2017 and diagnosed with acute DIC were retrospectively examined.
RESULTS: Of the patients participating in the study, 64 (73.6%) were female and 23 (26.4%) were male. Regarding the distribution of etiology in patients with acute DIC, the most common etiology, at 49.3%, was obstectic pathologies. Acute DIC was more frequent in women and younger adults (p = 0.001). Patients with trauma had the highest mortality rate (p = 0.001). Patients diagnosed with acute DIC who died as a result were older, and mortality was higher in males (p < 0.001 for both). Comparing ISTH scores, patients with acute DIC had significantly higher mortality (p = 0.028).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In this study, a majority of the patients diagnosed with acute DIC were young and female. Despite their high incidence of acute DIC however, the mortality rate for young female patients was low. The mortality rate was higher in elderly and male patients, although intensive treatment was administered following diagnosis of acute DIC. We believe that early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are of critical importance for patients thought to have acute DIC, regardless of underlying condition.