Blood coagulation disorders in septic patients

Abstract

Host defense and blood coagulation are tightly connected and interacting systems, necessary for the integrity of an organism. Complex mechanisms regulate the intensity of a host response to invading pathogens or other potentially dangerous situations. Under regular conditions, this response is limited in time and located to the site of injury. Sometimes, however, systemic host response is overwhelming and disproportional and causes damage, not cure. Dependent on the genetical predisposition of the host, its current immunocompetence, or the type of injury, the reaction leads to the clinical picture of the different degrees of sepsis. Septic organ dysfunction is caused by intravascular fibrin deposition as a result of coagulation activation, anticoagulant breakdown, and shut down of fibrinolysis. This article describes the major pathophysiologic reactions in these situations and presents www.SepDIC.eu, an online tool on sepsis and associated coagulopathy.