A 67-year-old client is admitted to the intensive care unit…
A 67-year-old client is admitted to the intensive care unit with septic shock secondary to pneumonia. Twelve hours after admission, the nurse notes new petechiae over the client’s chest, oozing of blood from the central venous catheter insertion site, and blood-tinged urine in the urinary catheter tubing. Which laboratory finding would most strongly support the nurse’s suspicion that the client is developing disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)?