[Disorders of blood coagulation in the intensive care unit: what is important for diagnosis and therapy?].

In the haemostatic system there is normally a stable balance between its components (vessel wall, platelets, coagulation, fibrinolysis), which are in continuously close interaction. Disturbances of this balance may lead to bleeding, thrombosis, or thrombohaemorrhagic consumptive disorders. The task of haemostaseologic diagnostics is to discover eventual preexisting but as yet undiagnosed disturbances in any patient entering an intensive care unit and, in cases of acute bleeding, to provide useful information that facilitates therapeutic decisions. Furthermore, the recognition of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) in an early, tractable phase may be a matter of life and death. Promising attempts to overcome DIC via substitution of antithrombin III and fresh frozen plasma are discussed. Optimal management of complications and monitoring of therapy requires the close teamwork of attending surgeons or physicians and haemostaseologists. The purpose of any therapy is to preserve or regain the balance of haemostasis.