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Determination of the Procoagulant Activity of Extracellular Vesicle (EV) Using EV-Activated Clotting Time (EV-ACT)
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Disseminated intravascular coagulation: a rare entity in burn injury

Juan P Barret1, Pablo A Gomez

  • 1St Andrews Centre for Plastic Surgery and Burns, Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, Essex, UK. jpbarret@hotmail.com

Burns : Journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
|March 19, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC) is a rare complication in severe burn patients, occurring in only 0.09% of cases. While it can complicate critical illness, appropriate therapy prevents severe outcomes, with no deaths directly attributed to DIC.

Area of Science:

  • Trauma Surgery
  • Hematology
  • Critical Care Medicine

Background:

  • Severe burns are historically associated with disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC).
  • The actual incidence and clinical impact of DIC in burn patients remain poorly understood due to limited literature.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the incidence of DIC in a large cohort of burn patients.
  • To investigate the clinical implications and outcomes associated with DIC following severe burns.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective review of 3331 consecutive burn patients.
  • Analysis of patient records for diagnosis of DIC and fibrin degradation products.

Main Results:

  • Three episodes of DIC (0.09% incidence) were identified among 3331 burn patients.
  • Six patients exhibited abnormal fibrin degradation products, suggesting subclinical coagulopathy.
  • All identified DIC episodes resolved with supportive and replacement therapy.
  • Two patients died from underlying burn pathology, not DIC; no DIC was noted on autopsy.

Conclusions:

  • Disseminated intravascular coagulopathy is an infrequent complication of severe burn trauma.
  • DIC can complicate the management of critically ill burn patients, but effective therapy mitigates severe progression.
  • Further prospective multicenter studies are warranted to accurately ascertain the incidence of DIC in burn populations.

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