Antithrombin Ⅲ for early diagnosis of DIC in sepsis patients: a retrospective analysis with 445 patients / 中华危重病急救医学

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigated the role of antithrombin Ⅲ (AT-Ⅲ) levels in the early diagnosis of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) in patients with sepsis and the predictive effect of AT-Ⅲ on the development of DIC.Methods A retrospective study was conducted. Patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) of the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University from January to December in 2015 were enrolled. The patients were divided into sepsis group and non-sepsis group according to the diagnostic criteria of sepsis. In addition, sepsis patients were divided into 3 subgroups according to the international society on thrombosis and haemostasis (ISTH) scores on the first day overt DIC (ISTH ≥ 5), non-overt DIC (ISTH 1-4) and none DIC group (ISTH = 0). Blood routine test, prothrombin time (PT), fibrinogen (Fib), D-dimer, fibrin degradation products (FDP), acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ (APACHE Ⅱ) scores, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores and ISTH scores were recorded on the first ICU day. AT-Ⅲ was recorded during 7 days. The differences were compared among these 3 groups. Correlations of AT-Ⅲ with various parameters were calculated by using Pearson correlation analysis in sepsis group and overt DIC group. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for diagnosis of DIC with AT-Ⅲ, AT-Ⅲ+PT were drawn to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency. The AT-Ⅲ levels of DIC patients were compared between early-onset DIC and late-onset DIC during their ICU stay. The change of AT-Ⅲ levels with time and prognosis in patients with early-onset DIC was compared between groups.Results Totally 445 patients were recruited, with 138 patients in sepsis group, and 307 in non-sepsis group. There were 20 patents diagnosed with overt DIC on the first ICU day, 115 patients non-overt DIC and 3 patients of none DIC. Twenty-five sepsis patients were diagnosed overt DIC during the ICU days. AT-Ⅲ level in sepsis patients on the first ICU day were lower than that in non-sepsis patients [(55.29±13.92)% vs. (76.54±12.31)%,P < 0.01]. Patients with overt DIC had a lower AT-Ⅲ level than non-overt DIC or none DIC patients [(43.85±13.00)% vs. (56.95±13.03)%, (68.00±16.52)%, bothP < 0.05]. It was shown by Pearson correlation analysis that AT-Ⅲ level of sepsis patients on the first ICU day was negatively correlated to ISTH score and PT (r value were -0.467, -0.654, bothP < 0.01). AT-Ⅲ level of overt DIC patient on the first ICU day was negatively correlated with PT (r = -0.675,P = 0.001). It was shown by ROC curve that area under ROC curve (AUC) of AT-Ⅲ combined with PT for diagnosis overt DIC in sepsis patients was higher than that of AT-Ⅲ or PT alone (0.843 vs. 0.763, 0.834), the sensitivity 90.0%, specificity 73.7%. The cut-off value for overt DIC diagnosis in sepsis patients of AT-Ⅲ level alone was 48.5%, sensitivity was 78.0%, specificity was 70.0%. On the first ICU day, AT-Ⅲ level was risen when ISTH score improved in patients with sepsis. There was similar change of AT-Ⅲ level between patients with early-onset DIC and late-onset DIC. AT-Ⅲ level increased with DIC improvement.Conclusion AT-Ⅲ level can be used for diagnosing sepsis-associated overt DIC independently or with a combination of PT. When ISTH score improved, AT-Ⅲ level was risen in patients with sepsis associated DIC.