Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation 

This is the fourth of a special podcast series on obstetric critical care.  I am joined on this series by Dr. Elizabeth Garchar, MD, FACOG.  She is an OB/GYN and Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) specialist who has a particular interest in obstetric critical care.  She is also unique in that she flies regularly with our critical care transport teams and acts as one of our Assistant Medical Directors for the flight program.  So, Dr. Garchar has unique insight into managing this population in transport.

The topic of this podcast is Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC) in the pregnant patient.  Although very rare, this disease carries a high morbidity and mortality.  The key features are the disease are diffuse and dysregulated coagulation that causes consumption of clotting factors (resulting in a paradoxical coagulopathic state), widespread endothelial damage, and is essentially always the result of some other disease process.  In this podcast we go over how critical care transport crews can recognize DIC and identify the underlying process causing it.  In addition, Dr. Garchar and I review the management in the transport environment and pearls regarding treating coagulopathy. 

In the podcast we give a shout out to a phenomenal OB Critical Care course that is put on by Banner University Medical Center and the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine.  Unfortunately, it’s a little late to sign up for this year’s session (November 2023), but put it on your radar for next year!  Here is a link to the brochure and conference content to give you an idea.  There is also a healthy component of simulation education.  I have no conflict of interest with this course at all…it’s just a phenomenal educational opportunity.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.smfm.org/media/1807/Brochure-Banner(FINAL).pdf

References

1.          Erez O. Disseminated intravascular coagulation in pregnancy: New insights. Thrombosis Update. 2022;6doi:10.1016/j.tru.2021.100083

2.          Erez O, Novack L, Beer-Weisel R, et al. DIC score in pregnant women--a population based modification of the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis score. PLoS One. 2014;9(4):e93240. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0093240

3.          Erez O, Othman M, Rabinovich A, Leron E, Gotsch F, Thachil J. DIC in Pregnancy - Pathophysiology, Clinical Characteristics, Diagnostic Scores, and Treatments. J Blood Med. 2022;13:21-44. doi:10.2147/JBM.S273047

4.          Foley MR, Strong TH, Garite TJ. Obstetric Intensive Care Manual. 5th ed. McGraw-Hill Education; 2014.

5.          Gando S, Nanzaki S, Sasaki S, Kemmotsu O. Significant correlations between tissue factor and thrombin markers in trauma and septic patients with disseminated intravascular coagulation. Thromb Haemost. Jun 1998;79(6):1111-5. 

6.          Kadikar SK, Divan FJ, Topiwala U, Agasiwala S. Study of pregnancy with disseminated intravascular coagulation. International Journal of Reproduction, Contraception, Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2021;10(11)doi:10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20214335

7.          Krikun G, Huang ST, Schatz F, Salafia C, Stocco C, Lockwood CJ. Thrombin activation of endometrial endothelial cells: a possible role in intrauterine growth restriction. Thromb Haemost. Feb 2007;97(2):245-53. 

8.          Levi M, Scully M. How I treat disseminated intravascular coagulation. Blood. Feb 22 2018;131(8):845-854. doi:10.1182/blood-2017-10-804096

9.          Levi M, Toh CH, Thachil J, Watson HG. Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of disseminated intravascular coagulation. British Committee for Standards in Haematology. Br J Haematol. Apr 2009;145(1):24-33. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2141.2009.07600.x

10.        Papageorgiou C, Jourdi G, Adjambri E, et al. Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation: An Update on Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Therapeutic Strategies. Clin Appl Thromb Hemost. Dec 2018;24(9_suppl):8S-28S. doi:10.1177/1076029618806424

11.        Rabinovich A, Abdul-Kadir R, Thachil J, Iba T, Othman M, Erez O. DIC in obstetrics: Diagnostic score, highlights in management, and international registry-communication from the DIC and Women's Health SSCs of the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. J Thromb Haemost. Sep 2019;17(9):1562-1566. doi:10.1111/jth.14523

12.        Rattray DD, O'Connell CM, Baskett TF. Acute disseminated intravascular coagulation in obstetrics: a tertiary centre population review (1980 to 2009). J Obstet Gynaecol Can. Apr 2012;34(4):341-347. doi:10.1016/S1701-2163(16)35214-8

13.        Taylor FB, Jr., Toh CH, Hoots WK, Wada H, Levi M. Towards definition, clinical and laboratory criteria, and a scoring system for disseminated intravascular coagulation. Thromb Haemost. Nov 2001;86(5):1327-30. 

14.        Toffaletti JG, Buckner KA. Use of Earlier-Reported Rotational Thromboelastometry Parameters to Evaluate Clotting Status, Fibrinogen, and Platelet Activities in Postpartum Hemorrhage Compared to Surgery and Intensive Care Patients. Anesth Analg. Mar 2019;128(3):414-423. doi:10.1213/ane.0000000000003499

15.        Veronika A L, John V, Xuezhi J. Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation due to Amniotic Fluid Embolism in an Early Molar Pregnancy. Clinical Medical Reviews and Case Reports. 2018;5(1)doi:10.23937/2378-3656/1410199

16.        Walker J, Bonavia A. To Clot or Not: HELLP Syndrome and Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation in an Eclamptic Patient with Intrauterine Fetal Demise. Case Rep Anesthesiol. 2020;2020:9642438. doi:10.1155/2020/9642438

17.        Zhao Z, Zhang J, Li N, et al. Disseminated intravascular coagulation associated organ failure in obstetric patients admitted to intensive care units: a multicenter study in China. Sci Rep. Aug 12 2021;11(1):16379. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-95841-7

FAST25 | May 19-21, 2025 | Lexington, KY

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📍 Central Bank Center | Lexington, KY
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