Disseminated intravascular coagulation and hyaline membrane disease

A study of coagulation variables in normal adults, normal newborn infants, thriving prematures, patients with HMD and patients with a variety of other neonatal disorders showed that DIC may occur in HMD. Bleeding was seen in all patients who died with HMD, and they had laboratory evidence of DIC with consumption coagulopathy more frequendy than those who survived. However, DIC alone may not account for the bleeding seen at autopsy, for some patients who survived and had no evidence of bleeding had findings indicative of DIC equal in magnitude to those who died with HMD. Laboratory evidence of DIC was also found in some other serious neonatal illnesses.