Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC) is a serious hypercoagulable disorder which can occur in hospitalized patients resulting in a high degree of morbidity and mortality.  DIC is a confusing disorder from both diagnostic and therapeutic standpoints resulting from several unrelated diseases which can trigger DIC, along with a lack of uniformity in clinical manifestation, laboratory diagnostic practices, and consensus on patient management.  The laboratory, by implementing the correct panel of testing methodologies, can greatly assist clinicians in patient management.  This lecture will describe the laboratory testing in order to illuminate this condition for people unfamiliar with the condition.

Learning objectives:

1. Describe the basic pathophysiology of DIC
2. Demonstrate a diagnostic and management approach for DIC
3. Compare markers of thrombin & plasmin generation in DIC, including D-Dimer, Fibrin Monomers/soluble fibrin, and fibrin degradation products (FDPs)
4. Correlate DIC theory and testing to specific clinical case