Episode 228: Oncologic Emergencies 101: Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation

“Consider your patient’s diagnosis. What kind of cancer do they have? And ask yourself, ‘Could this patient be in disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)? Is there something more that we should be doing or looking at?’” Leslie Smith, RN, APRN-CNS, DNP, BMTCN®, AOCNS®, oncology clinical specialist at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BC, AOCNS®, oncology clinical specialist at ONS. Smith discussed the nursing considerations for the management of DIC. This episode is part of a series about oncologic emergencies; the others are linked in the episode notes. You can earn free NCPD contact hours after listening to this episode by completing the evaluation linked below.

Music Credit: “Fireflies and Stardust” by Kevin MacLeod

Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0

Earn 0.5 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at myoutcomes.ons.org by October 7, 2024. The planners and faculty for this episode have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. ONS is accredited as a provider of NCPD by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Episode Notes

• Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.
• Previous Oncology Nursing Podcast episodes on oncologic emergencies
• ONS book: Understanding and Managing Oncologic Emergencies: A Resource for Nurses (third edition)
• ONS courses:
  • Oncologic Emergencies
  • Treatment and Symptom Management—Oncology RN
  • Essentials in Oncologic Emergencies for the Advanced Practice Provider
• ONS Huddle Cards™
  • DIC Huddle Card
• ONS Prevention of Bleeding Symptom Intervention and Guideline
• UpToDate
• Information from Cleveland Clinic
• Information from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.

To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org.

Highlights From Today’s Episode

“If the D-dimer is high, that is indicative of a clotting issue occurring. So, the next step for the nurse would be to look for the lab or ask for an order—you can order a DIC panel in some institutions—but look at coagulation labs. And really care and support these patients. DIC is not a disease in itself; it is a symptom of a disease, it is a syndrome. And it’s indicative of another problem occurring.” Timestamp (TS) 07:09

“In the chronic form, patients who l