Twenty-five consecutive patients with multidrug-resistant enteric feve
r were evaluated and followed for haemostatic abnormalities. Twenty-on
e (84%) of the patients had evidence of disseminated intravascular coa
gulation (DIG) and 12 (48%) also had evidence of associated fibrinolys
is. Clinical bleeding was observed in 3 (12%) cases, and did not bear
any correlation with clotting abnormalities. Protein C activity was fo
und to be decreased in 11 of the 15 cases with DIG, and a block in its
activation, as previously postulated, could not be substantiated. DIC
was reversed in most cases within 8 days of the institution of specif
ic antibiotic therapy.