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DIC Score for COVID19 Patients

Blood Sciences Test Haematology


The DIC score is of prognostic value in COVID-19 pneumonia

Data published by haematologists from Wuhan, China indicates that abnormal coagulation parameters can be a useful predictor of prognosis in pneumonia due to COVID-19 (Tang et al, 2020). Although the numbers in this study are small, the results demonstrate that 71% of non-survivors had overt disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), as demonstrated by the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) DIC score, compared with only 0.6% of survivors. The DIC score is calculated from measurement of the platelet count, D-dimer, fibrinogen and prothrombin time (Taylor et al, 2001) as shown in this table:

Parameter Score
Platelet Count
>100 x 109/L 0
50-100 x 109/L 1
<50 x 109/L 2
D-dimer
No increase 0
Moderate increase (1 – 10 times upper limit of normal) 2
Strong increase (> 10 times upper limit of normal) 3
Fibrinogen
> 1.0 g/L 0
≤ 1.0 g/L 1
Prothrombin time prolongation
< 3 s 0
3 – 6 s 1
> 6 s 2
Overt Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation ≥ 5

 

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