Question

a pregnant patient is at 34 weeks gestation and is diagnosed with placental abruption. for what blood dyscrasia is this patient at risk?

Answer 1

A pregnant patient with placental abruption is at risk for Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC), a serious blood clotting disorder. Hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN) or erythroblastosis fetalis is another blood dyscrasia related to Rh incompatibility but is not directly caused by placental abruption.

Step-by-step explanation:

A pregnant patient at 34 weeks gestation with a diagnosis of placental abruption is at risk for a blood dyscrasia known as Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC). This condition arises when the blood starts to clot excessively throughout the body’s small blood vessels, leading to the consumption of clotting factors and platelets, which ultimately may cause severe bleeding. Placental abruption, wherein the placental lining has separated from the uterus, can trigger this coagulopathy due to the release of thrombogenic materials into the mother’s circulation.

While hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN) or erythroblastosis fetalis is related to Rh incompatibility and not typically associated with placental abruption, it is another condition that involves blood dyscrasia where the mother's immune system destroys the fetus's red blood cells in the case of Rh incompatibility. This specifically occurs if an Rh-negative mother is sensitized during a previous pregnancy or blood transfusion and subsequently carries an Rh-positive fetus.