Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)
A serious, always-secondary condition in which clotting is switched on throughout the body at once. It uses up platelets and clotting factors, so tiny clots form in small vessels while, paradoxically, dangerous bleeding occurs elsewhere. It is a medical emergency driven by another severe illness.
What it is
Disseminated intravascular coagulation is not a disease in its own right but a dangerous complication of another severe illness. Something — most often serious infection (sepsis), major trauma, certain cancers, or complications of pregnancy — triggers the clotting system to activate throughout the bloodstream at once, instead of only at a site of injury. Widespread tiny clots form in small blood vessels, which can impair blood flow to organs. At the same time, this runaway clotting consumes the body's platelets and clotting factors faster than they can be replaced — so, paradoxically, the person is left unable to form clots where they are needed and begins to bleed. The result is a dangerous combination of clotting and bleeding at the same time: oozing from drip sites and wounds, bruising, and bleeding from the gut or other sites, alongside organ dysfunction. Blood tests show the pattern of consumption: a falling platelet count, a low and dropping fibrinogen, prolonged PT and aPTT clotting times, and a high D-dimer (from all the clot being broken down). DIC is a medical emergency. The single most important treatment is to identify and treat the underlying cause; supportive treatment replaces platelets and clotting factors as needed.
Key lab markers
- D-dimer — high, often markedly (widespread clot breakdown).
- Platelet count — low and falling (platelets are consumed).
- Fibrinogen — low and falling (a key marker of consumption).
- Prothrombin time (PT) and aPTT — both prolonged.
- Blood film — may show fragmented red cells.
- Markers of the underlying cause — e.g. infection (CRP, lactate), which is central.
Symptoms
- Bleeding or oozing from several sites at once (drip lines, wounds, gums, nose)
- Easy or extensive bruising and pinpoint purple spots on the skin
- Blood in urine or stool
- Signs of the underlying illness — severe infection, trauma, or pregnancy complication
- Signs of poor organ blood flow — confusion, reduced urine, breathlessness
- The person is usually seriously unwell
Related lab panels
When to discuss with a doctor
DIC is a medical emergency that occurs in someone who is already seriously ill, and is managed in hospital, often in intensive care. It is not something to screen for or act on in isolation — it is recognised by its blood-test pattern (falling platelets and fibrinogen, prolonged clotting times, high D-dimer) in the context of a severe underlying illness, and the priority is always urgent treatment of that underlying cause alongside supportive care. Anyone who is very unwell and starts bleeding or bruising from several sites needs immediate medical attention. Mediora.AI can surface the consumption pattern — low platelets, low fibrinogen, prolonged clotting times and a high D-dimer — that fits DIC, but this is an emergency diagnosis made and treated urgently in hospital, guided by the clinical picture and the underlying illness.