DIC or disseminated intravascular coagulation is also known as consumptive coagulopathy and is characterized by an activation of blood clotting mechanisms in the body. This occurs as a response to a number of diseases. This condition leads to the formation of blood clots inside the blood vessels in the body. The blood clots then begin to consume the coagulation platelets and proteins and as a result, normal processes of blood clotting are disrupted. This results in abnormal bleeding from the skin, the respiratory tract, the digestive tract and any surgical wounds. These blood clots may also result in a disruption of normal blood flow to organs like the kidneys, thereby causing a malfunction of the organ. DIC can also occur on a slow, chronic basis, depending upon the underlying condition that caused it. DIC may sometimes occur in the critically ill, leading to multiple organ failure and eventually resulting in death. The most common cause of DIC is an inflammation that occurs throughout the body on account of sepsis. Your doctor may recommend a creatinine clearance test to compare the levels of creatinine in the blood to the level of creatinine in urine. This test is generally based on measurements of a 24 hour blood and urine sample and clearance is measured as milliliters/minute.
A creatinine clearance test helps assess the kidney function by estimating the glomerular filtration rate or GFR. This is because creatinine found in plasma concentrations in the body is not reabsorbed and is only filtered minimally by the kidneys. The test thus measures the volume of filtrate produced by the kidneys every minute. Normal values for the test may vary from one laboratory to the other. In general, however, normal values for a woman are between 88 to 128 ml/min and for a man, normal values are between 97 to 137 ml/min. Abnormal results of the test may be indicative of a number of disorders. You should consult your health care practitioner to help understand your creatinine clearance test. Abnormal results could indicate congestive heart failure, blood deficiency, dehydration, acute nephritic syndrome, acute renal failure and Wilms' tumor, among others. A bilirubin test measures the levels of bilrubin in the blood to help diagnose certain kinds of disorders. High levels of bilirubin on your test may indicate the presence of infections in the body like cholecystitis and an infected gall bladder. In addition, high bilirubin levels may be indicative of liver damage caused by disorders like mononucleosis, cirrhosis or hepatitis.
Submitted by M T on April 7, 2010 at 11:31