Acquired Bleeding Disorders in intensive care units

Abstract

Acquired bleeding abnormalities represent one of the major problems commonly encountered in critically ill patients irrespective of age. Although most of these patients have no intrinsic abnormalities of hemostasis, either their underlying disease or the therapy of the disease may produce clinically significant bleeding problems. The intensive care physician must be able to recognize these abnormalities quickly and address them before clinically significant problems arise. Failure to do so may result in added costs, increased ICU stay, and a significant increase in morbidity in the acutely ill patient. ICU patients with coagulation defects have a four to five-fold higher risk for bleeding compared to patients with a normal coagulation status.