DIC in Pregnancy – Pathophysiology, Clinical Characteristics, Diagnostic Scores, and Treatments

Offer Erez,1,2 Maha Othman,3 Anat Rabinovich,4 Elad Leron,5 Francesca Gotsch,6 Jecko Thachil7 1Maternity Department “D”, Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Soroka University Medical Center, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel; 2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hutzel Women’s Hospital, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA; 3Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, School of Medicine, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada; 4Thrombosis and Hemostasis Unit, Hematology Institute, Soroka University Medical Center and Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel; 5Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Soroka University Medical Center, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel; 6Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata, AOUI Verona, University of Verona, Verona, Italy; 7Department of Haematology, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester, UKCorrespondence: Offer ErezMaternity Department “D” and Obstetrical Day Care Center, Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Soroka University Medical Center and Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, 84101, IsraelEmail erezof@bgu.ac.ilAbstract: Obstetrical hemorrhage and especially DIC (disseminated intravascular coagulation) is a leading cause for maternal mortality across the globe, often secondary to underlying maternal and/or fetal complications including placental abruption, amniotic fluid embolism, HELLP syndrome (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelets), retained stillbirth and acute fatty liver of pregnancy. Various obstetrical disorders can present with DIC as a complication; thus, increased awareness is key to diagnosing the condition. DIC patients can present to clinicians who may not be experienced in a variety of aspects of thrombosis and hemostasis. Hence, DIC diagnosis is often only entertained when the patient already developed uncontrollable bleeding or multi-organ failure, all of which represent unsalvageable scenarios. Beyond the clinical presentations, the main issue with DIC diagnosis is in relation to coagulation test abnormalities. It is widely believed that in DIC, patients will have prolonged prothrombin time (PT) and partial thromboplastin time (PTT), thrombocytopenia, low fibrinogen, and raised D-dimers. Diagnosis of DIC can be elusive during pregnancy and requires vigilance and knowledge of the physiologic changes during pregnancy. It can be facilitated by using a pregnancy specific DIC score including three components: 1) fibrinogen concentrations; 2) the PT difference – relating to the difference in PT result between the patient’s plasma and the laboratory control; and 3) platelet count. At a cutoff of ≥ 26 points, the pregnancy specific DIC score has 88% sensitivity, 96% specificity, a positive likelihood ratio (LR) of 22, and a negative LR of 0.125. Management of DIC during pregnancy requires a prompt attention to the underlying condition leading to this complication, including the delivery of the patient, and correction of the hemostatic problem that can be guided by point of care testing adjusted for pregnancy.Keywords: DIC, hyperfibrinolysis, thrombin, pregnancy specific DIC score, maternal mortality, placental abruption

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