DISSEMINATED INTRAVASCULAR COAGULATION - OBJECTIVE LABORATORY DIAGNOSTIC-CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES FOR MANAGEMENT

This article provides specific objective laboratory guidelines and criteria for the diagnosis and assessment of severity of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). In addition, this article provides an objective system to score the severity of DIC and to assess the efficacy of any given specific therapeutic modality, independent of influences of the underlying disease processes causing the DIC. These guidelines also provide objective criteria for use in prospective randomized trials to assess the safety and efficacy of any given specific therapeutic modality in DIC by using a laboratory and clinical based scoring system.