Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC)
Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation also termed as Consumption Coagulopathy is a very serious disorder of the blood. The disease though rare is extremely serious and can also prove to be fatal in the most severe conditions if not treated well in time.
Causes:
The proteins in the blood which help and control blood clotting abnormally get activated in the body thus resulting into thickening of the blood in our body. Many a times, small and large blood clots are formed within the blood vessels due to the disease. A few of these clots in the blood vessels can create clogs and thus reduce or perhaps stop the blood passage into certain organs like the liver or the kidney. If the disease is not treated instantly, it can simply cut off the blood flow from the various blood vessels to the several organs such as the liver and the kidneys. As a result, these organs stop working properly and give rise to several other disorders. However, after certain time, the amount of these clotting proteins in the blood get drastically fall causing their deficiency. Once this happens, the patient then drifts towards a situation where in he may suffer from uncontrollable bleeding after a simple cut. This bleeding can also turn to be fatal, if not treated in time.
Risk factors:
- Cancer, such as leukemia
- Any infection in the blood
- Pregnancy complications
- Blood transfusion reaction
- Any recent surgery or anesthesia
- Severe tissue injury
- Sepsis
- Severe liver disease
Symptoms:
The disease is somehow hard to notice but can still be diagnosed from the symptoms such as:
- Bleeding from multiple parts of the body
- Drop in blood pressure
- Blood clots
- And sudden bruising in the body
Diagnosis:
The disease can be diagnosed through the clinical tests like:
- Microscopic analysis
- Partial thromboplastin time (PTT)-high
- Fibrin degradation products in blood is high
- Prothrombin time (PT)- high
- Platelet count- low
- Serum fibrinogen- low
Treatment:
The treatment for the disorder can only be started once the disorder is diagnosed properly and in the appropriate time. After the diagnosis, the blood clotting factors in the blood are replaced with plasma transfusions. A medicine known as Heparin which is usually used to prevent clotting can also be used.
Complication:
The disorder can cause problems like severe bleeding or even lack of blood in the distant body parts such as arms, legs, etc. It can also cause a heart stroke.
Thus, it gets extremely important to rightly diagnose the disorder and then treat it well before it increases the risk in your life.