DIC
Sudden, widespread clotting within the microcirculation.
- Platelets and clotting factors are “consumed” (hence the synonym consumptive coagulopathy) due to the widespread clotting, causing an increased tendency of bleeding (hemorrhages)
- Small and medium vessels will clog, leading to ischemic tissue damage and necrosis (usually in the kidneys, brain, adrenal glands, and heart)
- Externally, appears as diffuse petechiae and ecchymosis in the skin and mucosal tissues (including inside the body — GIT, urinary tract, and the serosal lining of body cavities and organs)
In other words, there will be too much clotting in the wrong places and too little clotting in the right places.
Pathomechanism
Release of tissue factor and aggregation of platelets leading to widespread microvascular thrombosis.
The body will attempt to fix the situation by activating plasmin, fibrinolysis, and inhibiting the clotting factors, but it will only make things worse for the increased bleeding tendency (since the platelets and clotting factors were “consumed” during the widespread clotting, as mentioned above).