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Question 7#

What is true about coagulopathy related to trauma? 

A. Acute coagulopathy of trauma is mechanistically similar to DIC
B. Coagulopathy can develop in trauma patients following acidosis, hypothermia, and dilution of coagulation factors, though coagulation is normal upon admission
C. Acute coagulopathy of trauma is caused by shock and tissue injury
D. Acute coagulopathy of trauma is mainly a dilutional coagulopathy

Correct Answer is C

Comment:

Traditional teaching regarding trauma-related coagulopathy attributed its development to acidosis, hypothermia, and dilution of coagulation factors. Recent data, however, have shown that over one-third of injured patients has evidence of coagulopathy at the time of admission. More importantly, patients arriving with coagulopathy are at a significantly higher risk of mortality, especially in the first 24 hours after injury. Acute Coagulopathy of trauma is not a simple dilutional coagulopathy but a complex problem with multiple mechanisms. Whereas multiple contributing factors exist, the key initiators to the process of ACoT are shock and tissue injury. ACoT is a separate and distinct process from DIC with its own specific components of hemostatic failure.