Relationship between disseminated intravascular coagulation and levels of plasma thrombinogen segment 1+2, D-dimer, and thrombomodulin in patients with multiple injuries.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and levels of plasma thrombinogen segment 1+2 (F1+2), D-dimer (D-D), and thrombomodulin (TM) in patients with severe multiple injuries.

METHODS: In this study, 66 patients (49 males and 17 females, aged 15-74 years, mean=38.4 years) with multiple injuries, who were admitted to our hospital within 24 hours after injury with no personal or family history of hematopathy or coagulopathy, were divided into a minor injury group (ISS<16, n=21) and a major injury group (ISS>or=16, n=45) according to the injury severity. The patients in the major injury group were divided into a subgroup complicated with DIC (DIC subgroup, n=12) and a subgroup complicated with no DIC (non-DIC subgroup, n=33). Ten healthy people (7 males and 3 females, aged 22-61 years, mean=36.5 years+/-9.0 years), who received somatoscopy and diagnosed as healthy, served as the control group. Venous blood samples were collected once in the control group and 1, 3 and 7 days after trauma in the injury groups. The F1+2 and TM concentrations were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and D-D concentrations were measured by automated latex enhanced immunoassay.

RESULTS: F1+2, D-D and TM levels were higher in the minor and major injury groups than in the control group. They were markedly higher in the major injury group than in the minor injury group. In the non-DIC subgroup, F1+2 levels declined gradually while D-D and TM levels declined continuously. In the DIC subgroup, F1+2 and D-D levels remained elevated while TM levels exhibited an early rise and subsequent decrease. Plasma F1+2, D-D and TM levels were higher in the DIC patients than in the non-DIC patients. Injury-induced increases in F1+2, D-D and TM plasma levels had significant positive correlation with each other at each time point.

CONCLUSIONS: Besides being related to trauma severity, F1+2, D-D and TM levels correlate closely with the occurrence of posttraumatic DIC. Therefore, changes in plasma F1+2, D-D and TM levels may predict the occurrence of DIC.