[Acute blood coagulation disorders in pregnancy--changing patterns in the disease picture]

The syndrome of coagulation defects in obstetrics was detected as cause for obstetrical hemorrhage during the 50 years. Some of the etiologic factors like the dead fetus syndrome or the salting out syndrome have vanished. Amniotic fluid embolism is the only syndrome which is clearly associated with disseminated intravascular coagulation. This connection between premature separation is less clear. One concept assumes that the plasma fibrinogen concentration is low because it is consumed in the retroplacental hematoma. Heparin treatment can be fatal if DIC is mistaken with a "loss coagulopathy", which is at present mostly responsible for coagulation defects and obstetrical hemorrhage. This indicates a change in pattern of disease which is due to a better pathophysiologic understanding.