Disseminated intravascular coagulation

Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC) is an acquired syndrome representing a hypercoagulable state, haemorrhagic symptoms and multiple organ failure. The clinical relevance of this syndrome is complicated since there is no established way of diagnosing DIC and it is difficult to distinguish whether clinical features are attributable to the underlying disease or DIC. Experimental studies, based on models of gram-negative sepsis and the Generalized Shwartzman Reaction, show that DIC is characterized by strongly enhanced inflammatory activity, activated coagulation and impaired fibrinolysis. In this review we propose that activated neutrophils play a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of DIC, particularly by contributing to inflammation and vascular injury. Additionally, a distinct role for granulocytes in fibrinolysis has also been suggested. Although the underlying procoagulant pathways of DIC and the important role of tissue factor have been unravelled, therapeutic interventions counteracting the mediators of these pathways proved mainly unsuccessful (with the positive exception of activated protein C). Dissecting the molecular interactions at the onset and progression of DIC might therefore help to elucidate the fundamental consequences of DIC, possibly contributing to better diagnostic tools and more effective therapeutic options.