Page 1 of 1: laboratory values would confirm the likely diagnosis?

mdali007 · Credits: 5763 My Scrapbook

An intensive care patient develops sepsis. His blood pressure drops to 60/15 mm Hg and he starts to bleed from venipuncture sites. Disseminated intravascular coagulation is suspected. Which of the following sets of stat laboratory values would confirm the likely diagnosis?

Options:bda

A. Decreased PT, decreased PTT, decreased platelets.

B. Decreased PT, elevated PTT, decreased platelets.

C. Decreased PT, elevated PTT, elevated platelets.

D. Elevated PT, elevated PTT, decreased platelets.

E. Elevated PT, elevated PTT, elevated platelets.

mdali007 · Credits: 5763 My Scrapbook

The correct answer is D.

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a feared complication of many serious illnesses, including obstetric complications, sepsis, malignancies, and severe trauma. The most characteristic initiating event is formation (and often subsequent lysis) of microthrombi composed of platelets, fibrin, and coagulative factors. The consumption of coagulative factors leads to increased prothrombin time (PT) and partial thromboplastin time (PTT). The consumption of platelets leads to a decreased platelet count. A more specific confirmatory test is an increase in fibrin split products, such as "D-dimers." Characteristically, DIC clinically produces a mix of hemorrhagic and coagulative complications, and is difficult to treat because correcting the coagulative tendency tends to worsen the hemorrhage, and correcting the hemorrhagic tendency tends to worsen thrombotic complications.

		Sign In New User? Sign Up Sign in to access your control panel and messenger!
				TechZone \| SpiderNevi \| HowTo? \| Scrapbook!