Sepsis Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Sepsis, including details on septicemia, diagnosis, symptoms, treatment.

Does disseminated intravascular coagulation lead to multiple organ failure?

Vincent JL, De Backer D

Department of Intensive Care, Erasme University Hospital, Free University of Brussels, Route de Lennik 808, Brussels 1070, Belgium. jlvincen@ulb.ac.be

Microvascular dysfunction with its associated impaired regional oxygen transport and use is believed to be the final common pathway in the development of multiple organ failure. The precise mechanisms underlying this dysfunction, however, are uncertain. Activation of the coagulation system is a key feature in the pathogenesis of sepsis, but whether it is also the cause of multiple organ failure is unclear. This article discusses the evidence for and against a key role for disseminated intravascular coagulation in the pathogenesis of multiple organ failure.

Published 4 July 2005 in Crit Care Clin, 21(3): 469-77.
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