Table 1.

Clinical conditions associated with disseminated intravascular coagulation

Condition	Causes
Sepsis or severe infection	Potentially any micro-organism, including severe acute respiratory syndrome
Trauma	Serious tissue injury
	Head injury
	Fat embolism
Organ destruction	Severe pancreatitis
Malignancy	Solid tumours
	Haematological malignancies (for example, acute promyelocytic leukaemia)
Obstetrical calamities	Placental abruption
	Amniotic fluid embolism
Vascular abnormalities	Giant haemangiomas (Kasabach-Merrit syndrome)
	Large vessel aneurysms (for example, aortic)
Hepatic failure
Severe toxic or immunological reactions	Snake bites
	Recreational drugs
	Severe transfusion reactions
	Transplant rejection