Admitted to ICU of Imam Hossein Hospital in 2013-2017

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a pathologic activation of the blood coagulation system in various organs of the body, which is one of the most common paraclinical disorders in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. In this study, the incidence of DIC-like syndrome and its effect on mortality rate and hospitalization days in patients in the intensive care unit were evaluated.
This study included a historical cohort in which demographic and clinical data of patients admitted to the ICU of the Imam Hossein Hospital between 2013 and 2017 years was collected from the ICU database. The incidence of DIC-like syndrome was calculated and reported 48 hours after the patient entered the ICU. Mortality rate or discharge was the primary outcome. Duration of hospitalization in the ICU was a secondary outcome and was recorded in all patients.
A total of 1257 patients admitted to the ICU were evaluated and the incidence of DIC-like syndrome in these patients was 5.7% (n=72). Of the 72 patients with DIC-like syndrome, 43 were men, 58 of whom were over 40 years of age. Most patients had an Apache score of 15-20. The mean number of hospitalization days were 22.8 days for patients with DIC syndrome (72 patients) and 18 days for other patients (1,185 patients) (P = 0.06), and most patients with DIC syndrome were admitted to the ICU for more than 28 days . Mortality was significantly higher in patients with DIC-like syndrome than in other ICU-treated patients. There was no significant relationship between DIC-like syndrome and age and sex variables, and APACHE scores. In other reported data, no significant difference was found between DIC-like syndrome patients and other ICU patients.
The incidence of DIC-like syndrome leads to an increase in mortality rates in ICU patients. This suggests that any coagulation disorder, even limited to laboratory results, should be immediately followed and treated.