Disseminated intravascular coagulation

**Definition:** A disorder that is characterised by the systemic intravascular activation of the coagulation system, simultaneously leading to intravascular thrombi, compromising an adequate blood supply to the organs, and to bleeding as the consequence of consumption of platelets and coagulation factors. It may be provoked by a wide range of disorders including infections, inflammatory disorders and malignancy.

**Long definition:** Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC) is a clinicopathologic syndrome characterized by reduction in the elements involved in blood coagulation due to the systemic activation of the blood coagulation system, leading to microvascular thrombi in various organs and contributing to the development of multiorgan failure. And in the later stages, by the consumption and subsequent exhaustion of coagulation proteins and plateles, profuse hemorrhage occurs. The most common causes are bacterial sepsis, malignant disorders such as solid tumors or acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), and obstetric causes.