The Doctors in ICU Need to Know the Basics of Coagulopathy

Coagulopathy is common in critically ill patients. Under pathogenic factors, the homeostasis of coagulation, anticoagulation, and fibrinolytic system is disrupted, causing a series of cascade reactions that ultimately lead to coagulopathy. The pathophysiology of coagulopathy markedly varies according to the etiology. For sepsis-induced coagulopathy, inflammation interacts with coagulation. This process involves various cells, including endothelial cells, neutrophils, and platelets. Thrombocytopenia, as a common coagulopathy disorder among intensive care unit (ICU) patients, is indicative of poor outcome, and its differential diagnosis is crucial. However, the standardized diagnostic criteria for disseminated intravascular coagulation are yet to be established, and the existing ones have limitations. Therefore, we used PubMed to search literature related to “thrombocytopenia,” “sepsis,” “coagulopathy,” “disseminated intravascular coagulation,” and “coagulation biomarkers” and expected ICU doctors to fully understand knowledgeable of the pathophysiology of Coagulopathy. The traditional coagulation indicators can be combined with novel coagulation-related biomarkers for the accurate diagnosis and treatment of coagulopathy.