Table 1.

The classification of trauma-induced coagulopathy

1. Physiological changes

• Hemostasis and wound healing

2. Pathological changes

• Endogenously induced primary pathologies

- Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC)

• Activation of coagulation

• Insufficient anticoagulant mechanisms

• Increased fibrin (ogen) olysis (early phase)

• Suppression of fibrinolysis (late phase)

- Acute coagulopathy trauma-shock (ACOTS)

• Activated protein C-mediated suppression of coagulation

• Activated protein C-mediated increased fibrinolysis

• Exogenously induced secondary pathologies that modify DIC and ACOTS

- Anemia-induced coagulopathy

- Hypothermia-induced coagulopathy

- Acidosis-induced coagulopathy

- Dilutional coagulopathy

- Others

ACOTS is referred to by various names including (but not limited to) acute traumatic coagulopathy and acute coagulopathy of trauma, etc. Some researchers refer to ACOTS as trauma-induced coagulopathy. Adapted with permission from reference [22]