[Secondary blood coagulation disturbances after severe head injuries (author's transl)].

The release of tissue thromboplastin after a severe brain injury can lead to a consumption coagulopathy. In a group of 83 patients with severe brain injury, platelet count, fibrinogen, prothrombin, partial thromboplastin time and thrombin time were investigated. The pathological laboratory findings in 14 were compatible with a consumption coagulopathy. These alterations were demonstrated during the first hours following trauma and represented an extra handicap for the patients who had to be treated surgically.