A 65-year-old male was admitted to the hospital because of the 4-years' history of ecchymoses and subcutaneous hematoma on August 5, 1983. Peripheral blood showed RBC 339×104/mm3, Hb 10.8 g/dl, Ht 31.7%, WBC 5,900/mm3, platelet 7.3×104/mm3. FDP was 20∼40 μg/ml and fibrinogen 54 mg/dl. The chest X-ray film showed protruded opacity in the portion of the descending thoracic aorta.
Based on these findings, a diagnosis of chronic disseminated intravascular coagulation due to aortic aneurysm was made. Heparin sodium was administered in the dosage of 5,000 units subcutaneously every 12 hours, resulting in good control. Operative Repair of the aneurysm was suggested to the patient, but it was refused. The same dose of heparin continued to be administered by self-injection after ambulation and coagulopathy has been in good control for the following 2-years. no problem associated with self-injection of heparin has been encountered.
Evaluation of 24 cases of disseminated intravascular coagulation associated with aortic aneurysm collected from the literature showed that heparin sodium was effective for their bleeding tendency (80%), and had life saving effects in some cases.
