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Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC)

Also known as: DIC · consumptive coagulopathy

Widespread inappropriate activation of coagulation that consumes platelets and clotting factors — causing simultaneous microvascular thrombosis AND bleeding. It is always secondary to an underlying trigger.

Source · Reviewed 2026-08-15 · v1.0— AI-assisted draft — verify against the cited guideline before clinical use.

⚕️ Education only — not medical advice. Verify against the latest official guideline and your local protocol; confirm every drug dose against the cited source before clinical use.

Who gets it

Sepsis (commonest), major trauma or burns, obstetric emergencies (abruption, amniotic-fluid embolism, PPH), malignancy (especially acute promyelocytic leukaemia), and severe reactions.

Red flags — escalate / refer

Oozing from lines/wounds with organ dysfunction, or overt bleeding/thrombosis in a critically ill patient → emergency; find and treat the cause.

Work-up / diagnosis

1The clinical picture plus labs — low platelets, prolonged PT/APTT, low fibrinogen and raised D-dimer/FDPs; a scoring system supports it.
2Monitor the trend and hunt for the trigger.

Management — overview

TREAT THE UNDERLYING CAUSE — this is the priority (e.g., antibiotics for sepsis; deliver in obstetric DIC).
Replace blood products only if bleeding or before a procedure — platelets, fresh frozen plasma and cryoprecipitate/fibrinogen, guided by labs.
Consider anticoagulation where thrombosis dominates; support failing organs.

In-depthFull dosing & advanced protocol

Drug dosing

Blood products (guided by labs & bleeding)

Platelets / FFP / cryoprecipitate for bleeding

Adult dose: Replace to targets when bleeding or pre-procedure
Route: Intravenous

ICMRStandard Treatment Workflows (STWs), India — Dept. of Health Research & ICMR (2022+) ↗

Treat the cause

e.g., antibiotics for sepsis

Adult dose: Per the relevant protocol
Route: Per cause

WHOWHO Model List of Essential Medicines (electronic EML) (2025 (24th)) ↗

It's the underlying disease that kills

DIC is a manifestation of another illness — treating the trigger is everything.
Transfuse for bleeding, not for numbers alone.
A falling fibrinogen and platelet count over time is the key trend; APML is a special, treatable cause.

ICMRStandard Treatment Workflows (STWs), India — Dept. of Health Research & ICMR (2022+) ↗

References

Guidelines change. If something here is out of date, tell us — we keep these current.

🚩 Report outdated / suggest update

More protocols

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👤 Who gets it

🚩 Red flags — escalate / refer

🔎 Work-up / diagnosis

🧭 Management — overview

💊 Drug dosing

Blood products (guided by labs & bleeding)

Treat the cause

📈 It's the underlying disease that kills

📚 References

More protocols

👤 Who gets it

🚩 Red flags — escalate / refer

🔎 Work-up / diagnosis

🧭 Management — overview

💊 Drug dosing

Blood products (guided by labs & bleeding)

Treat the cause

📈 It's the underlying disease that kills

📚 References

More protocols

Who gets it

Red flags — escalate / refer

Work-up / diagnosis

Management — overview

Drug dosing

It's the underlying disease that kills

References

Who gets it

Red flags — escalate / refer

Work-up / diagnosis

Management — overview

Drug dosing

It's the underlying disease that kills

References