Prognosis varies depending on the underlying disorder, and the extent of the intravascular thrombosis (clotting). The prognosis for those with DIC, regardless of cause, is often grim: Between 20% and 50% of patients will die. DIC with sepsis (infection) has a significantly higher rate of death than DIC associated with trauma.

DIC is observed in approximately 1% of academic hospital admissions. DIC occurs at higher rates in people with bacterial sepsis (83%), severe trauma (31%), and cancer (6.8%).

In 2003, the incidence of Rh(D) sensitization in the United States was 6.8 per 1000 live births; 0.27% of women with an Rh incompatible fetus experience alloimmunization.

Complications of HDN could include kernicterus, hepatosplenomegaly, inspissated (thickened or dried) bile syndrome and/or greenish staining of the teeth, hemolytic anemia and damage to the liver due to excess bilirubin. Similar conditions include acquired hemolytic anemia, congenital toxoplasma and syphilis infection, congenital obstruction of the bile duct and cytomegalovirus infection.

- High at birth or rapidly rising bilirubin

- Prolonged hyperbilirubinemia

- Bilirubin Induced Neuorlogical Dysfunction

- Cerebral Palsy

- Kernicterus

- Neutropenia

- Thrombocytopenia

- Hemolytic Anemia - MUST NOT be treated with iron

- Late onset anemia - Must NOT be treated with iron. Can persist up to 12 weeks after birth.

Suggestions have been made that women of child bearing age or young girls should not be given a transfusion with Kell positive blood. Donated blood is not currently screened (in the U.S.A.) for the Kell blood group antigens as it is not considered cost effective at this time.

It has been hypothesized that IgG anti-Kell antibody injections would prevent sensitization to RBC surface Kell antigens in a similar way that IgG anti-D antibodies (Rho(D) Immune Globulin) are used to prevent Rh disease, but the methods for IgG anti-Kell antibodies have not been developed at the present time.

Mothers who are negative for the Kell antigen develop antibodies after being exposed to red blood cells that are positive for Kell. Over half of the cases of hemolytic disease of the newborn owing the anti-Kell antibodies are caused by multiple blood transfusions, with the remainder due to a previous pregnancy with a Kell positive baby.

Hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDN) is a condition where the passage of maternal antibodies results in the hemolysis of fetal/neonatal red cells. The antibodies can be naturally occurring such as anti-A, and anti-B, or immune antibodies developed following a sensitizing event. Isoimmunization occurs when the maternal immune system is sensitized to red blood cell surface antigens. The most common causes of isoimmunization are blood transfusion, and fetal-maternal hemorrhage. The hemolytic process can result in anemia, hyperbilirubinemia, neonatal thrombocytopenia, and neonatal neutropenia. With the use of RhD Immunoprophylaxis, (commonly called Rhogam), the incidence of anti-D has decreased dramatically and other alloantibodies are now a major cause of HDN.

One study done by Moran et al., found that titers are not reliable for anti-E. Their most severe case of hemolytic disease of the newborn occurred with titers 1:2. Moran states that it would be unwise routinely to dismiss anti-E as being of little clinical consequence.

In the case of anti-E, the woman should be checked around 28 weeks to see if she has developed anti-c as well.

Hypoprothrombinemia can be the result of a genetic defect, may be acquired as the result of another disease process, or may be an adverse effect of medication. For example, 5-10% of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus exhibit acquired hypoprothrombinemia due to the presence of autoantibodies which bind to prothrombin and remove it from the bloodstream (lupus anticoagulant-hypoprothrombinemia syndrome). The most common viral pathogen that is involved is Adenovirus, with a prevalence of 50% in postviral cases.

Inheritance:

Autosomal recessive condition in which both parents must carry the recessive gene in order to pass the disease on to offspring. If both parents have the autosomal recessive condition, the chance of mutation in offspring increases to 100%. An individual will be considered a carrier if one mutant copy of the gene is inherited, and will not illustrate any symptoms. The disease affects both men and women equally, and overall, is a very uncommon inherited or acquired disorder.

Non-inheritance and other factors:

There are two types of prothrombin deficiencies that occur depending on the mutation:

Type I (true deficiency), includes a missense or nonsense mutation, essentially decreasing prothrombin production. This is associated with bleeding from birth. Here, plasma levels of prothrombin are typically less than 10% of normal levels.

Type II, known as dysprothrombinemia, includes a missense mutation at specific Xa factor cleavage sites and serine protease prothrombin regions. Type II deficiency creates a dysfunctional protein with decreased activity and usually normal or low-normal antigen levels. A vitamin K-dependent clotting factor is seldom seen as a contributor to inherited prothrombin deficiencies, but lack of Vitamin K decreases the synthesis of prothrombin in liver cells.

Acquired underlying causes of this condition include severe liver disease, warfarin overdose, platelet disorders, and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC).

It may also be a rare adverse effect to Rocephin.

Acute fatty liver of pregnancy is a rare condition and occurs in approximately one in 7,000 to one in 15,000 pregnancies. The mortality from acute fatty liver of pregnancy has been reduced significantly to 18%, and is now related primarily to complications, particularly DIC (Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation) and infections. After delivery, most mothers do well, as the stimulus for fatty acid overload is removed. The disease can recur in future pregnancies, with a calculated genetic chance of 25%; the actual rate is lower, however. Mortality of the foetus has also diminished significantly, but still remains 23%, and may be related to the need for premature delivery.

Purpura are a common and nonspecific medical sign; however, the underlying mechanism commonly involves one of:

- Platelet disorders (thrombocytopenic purpura)

- Primary thrombocytopenic purpura

- Secondary thrombocytopenic purpura

- Post-transfusion purpura

- Vascular disorders (nonthrombocytopenic purpura)

- Microvascular injury, as seen in senile (old age) purpura, when blood vessels are more easily damaged

- Hypertensive states

- Deficient vascular support

- Vasculitis, as in the case of Henoch–Schönlein purpura

- Coagulation disorders

- Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)

- Scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) - defect in collagen synthesis due to lack of hydroxylation of procollagen results in weakened capillary walls and cells

- Meningococcemia

- Cocaine use with concomitant use of the one-time chemotherapy drug and now veterinary deworming agent levamisole can cause purpura of the ears, face, trunk, or extremities, sometimes needing reconstructive surgery. Levamisole is purportedly a common cutting agent.

- Decomposition of blood vessels including purpura is a symptom of acute radiation poisoning in excess of 2 Grays of radiation exposure. This is an uncommon cause in general, but is commonly seen in victims of nuclear disaster.

Cases of psychogenic purpura are also described in the medical literature, some claimed to be due to "autoerythrocyte sensitization". Other studies suggest the local (cutaneous) activity of tissue plasminogen activator can be increased in psychogenic purpura, leading to substantial amounts of localized plasmin activity, rapid degradation of fibrin clots, and resultant bleeding. Petechial rash is also characteristic of a rickettsial infection.

Hypoprothrombinemia is found to present itself as either inherited or acquired, and is a decrease in the synthesis of prothrombin. In the process of inheritance, it marks itself as an autosomal recessive disorder, meaning that both parents must be carriers of the defective gene in order for the disorder to be present in a child. Prothrombin is a glycoprotein that occurs in blood plasma and functions as a precursor to the enzyme, thrombin, which acts to convert fibrinogen into fibrin, therefore, fortifying clots. This clotting process is known as coagulation.

The mechanism specific to prothrombin (factor II) includes the proteolytically cleaving, breakdown of proteins into smaller polypeptides or amino acids, of this coagulation factor in order to form thrombin at the beginning of the cascade, leading to stemming of blood loss. A mutation in factor II would essentially lead to hypoprothrombinemia. The mutation is presented on chromosome 11.

Areas where the disease has been shown to present itself at include the liver, since the glycoprotein is stored in this area.

Acquired cases are results from an isolated factor II deficiency. Specific cases include:

1. Vitamin-K Deficiency: In the liver, vitamin K plays an important role in the synthesis of coagulation factor II. Body's capacity in the storage of vitamin K is typically very low. Vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors have a very short half-life, sometimes leading to a deficiency when a depletion of vitamin K occurs. The liver synthesizes inactive precursor proteins in the absence of vitamin K (liver disease). Vitamin K deficiency leads to impaired clotting of the blood and in some cases, causes internal bleeding without an associated injury.

2. Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC): Involving abnormal, excessive generation of thrombin and fibrin within the blood. Relative to hypoprothrombinemia, due to increased platelet aggregation and coagulation factor consumption involved in the process.

3. Anticoagulants: Warfarin Overdose: Used as a treatment for prevention of blood clots, however, like most drugs, side effects have been shown to increase risk of excessive bleeding by functioning in the disruption of hepatic synthesis of coagulation factors II, VII, IX, and X. Vitamin K is an antagonist to warfarin drug, reversing its activity, causing it to be less effective in the process of blood clotting. Warfarin intake has been shown to interfere with Vitamin-K metabolism.

In about a third of all ABO incompatible pregnancies maternal IgG anti-A or IgG anti-B antibodies pass through the placenta to the fetal circulation leading to a weakly positive direct Coombs test for the neonate's blood. However, ABO HDN is generally mild and short-lived and only occasionally severe because:

- IgG anti-A (or IgG anti-B) antibodies that enter the fetal circulation from the mother find A (or B) antigens on many different fetal cell types, leaving fewer antibodies available for binding onto fetal red blood cells.

- Fetal RBC surface A and B antigens are not fully developed during gestation and so there are a smaller number of antigenic sites on fetal RBCs.

Acquired hemolytic anemia can be divided into immune and non-immune mediated forms of hemolytic anemia.

A study performed at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York, showed that infants ≤ 60 days old meeting the following criteria were at low-risk for having a serious bacterial illness:

- generally well-appearing

- previously healthy

- full term (at ≥37 weeks gestation)

- no antibiotics perinatally

- no unexplained hyperbilirubinemia that required treatment

- no antibiotics since discharge

- no hospitalizations

- no chronic illness

- discharged at the same time or before the mother

- no evidence of skin, soft tissue, bone, joint, or ear infection

- White blood cells (WBCs) count 5,000-15,000/mm

- absolute band count ≤ 1,500/mm

- urine WBC count ≤ 10 per high power field (hpf)

- stool WBC count ≤ 5 per high power field (hpf) "only in infants with diarrhea"

Those meeting these criteria likely do not require a lumbar puncture, and are felt to be safe for discharge home without antibiotic treatment, or with a single dose of intramuscular antibiotics, but will still require close outpatient follow-up.

One risk for Group B streptococcal infection (GBS) is Preterm rupture of membranes. Screening women for GBS (via vaginal and rectal swabbing) and treating culture positive women with intrapartum chemoprophylaxis is reducing the number of neonatal sepsis caused by GBS.

Anti-A and anti-B antibodies are usually IgM and do not pass through the placenta, but some mothers "naturally" have IgG anti-A or IgG anti-B antibodies, which can pass through the placenta. Exposure to A-antigens and B-antigens, which are both widespread in nature, usually leads to the production of IgM anti-A and IgM anti-B antibodies but occasionally IgG antibodies are produced.

Some mothers may be sensitized by fetal-maternal transfusion of ABO incompatible red blood and produce immune IgG antibodies against the antigen they do not have and their baby does. For example, when a mother of genotype OO (blood group O) carries a fetus of genotype AO (blood group A) she may produce IgG anti-A antibodies. The father will either have blood group A, with genotype AA or AO, or more rarely, have blood group AB, with genotype AB.

It would be very rare for ABO sensitization to be caused by therapeutic blood transfusion as a great deal of effort and checking is done to ensure that blood is ABO compatible between the recipient and the donor.

Most Rh disease can be prevented by treating the mother during pregnancy or promptly (within 72 hours) after childbirth. The mother has an intramuscular injection of anti-Rh antibodies (Rho(D) immune globulin). This is done so that the fetal rhesus D positive erythrocytes are destroyed before the immune system of the mother can discover them and become sensitized. This is passive immunity and the effect of the immunity will wear off after about 4 to 6 weeks (or longer depending on injected dose) as the anti-Rh antibodies gradually decline to zero in the maternal blood.

It is part of modern antenatal care to give all rhesus D negative pregnant women an anti-RhD IgG immunoglobulin injection at about 28 weeks gestation (with or without a booster at 34 weeks gestation). This reduces the effect of the vast majority of sensitizing events which mostly occur after 28 weeks gestation. Giving Anti-D to all Rhesus negative pregnant women can mean giving it to mothers who do not need it (because her baby is Rhesus negative or their blood did not mix). Many countries routinely give Anti-D to Rhesus D negative women in pregnancy. In other countries, stocks of Anti-D can run short or even run out. Before Anti-D is made routine in these countries, stocks should be readily available so that it is available for women who need Anti-D in an emergency situation.

A recent review found research into giving Anti-D to all Rhesus D negative pregnant women is of low quality. However the research did suggest that the risk of the mother producing antibodies to attack Rhesus D positive fetal cells was lower in mothers who had the Anti-D in pregnancy. There were also fewer mothers with a positive kleihauer test (which shows if the mother’s and unborn baby’s blood has mixed).

Anti-RhD immunoglobulin is also given to non-sensitized rhesus negative women immediately (within 72 hours—the sooner the better) after potentially sensitizing events that occur earlier in pregnancy.

The discovery of cell-free DNA in the maternal plasma has allowed for the non-invasive determination of the fetal RHD genotype. In May 2017, the Society for Obstetrics and Gynecology of Canada is now recommending that the optimal management of the D-negative pregnant woman is based on the prediction of the fetal D-blood group by cell-free DNA in maternal plasma with targeted antenatal anti-D prophylaxis. This provides the optimal care for D-negative pregnant women and has been adopted as the standard approach in a growing number of countries around the world. It is no longer considered appropriate to treat all D-negative pregnant women with human plasma derivatives when there are no benefits to her or to the fetus in a substantial percentage of cases.

Drug induced hemolysis has large clinical relevance. It occurs when drugs actively provoke red blood cell destruction. It can be divided in the following manner:

- Drug-induced autoimmune hemolytic anemia

- Drug-induced nonautoimmune hemolytic anemia

A total of four mechanisms are usually described, but there is some evidence that these mechanisms may overlap.

During any pregnancy a small amount of the baby's blood can enter the mother's circulation. If the mother is Rh negative and the baby is Rh positive, the mother produces antibodies (including IgG) against the rhesus D antigen on her baby's red blood cells. During this and subsequent pregnancies the IgG is able to pass through the placenta into the fetus and if the level of it is sufficient, it will cause destruction of rhesus D positive fetal red blood cells leading to the development of Rh disease. It may thus be regarded as insufficient immune tolerance in pregnancy. Generally rhesus disease becomes worse with each additional rhesus incompatible pregnancy.

The main and most frequent sensitizing event is child birth (about 86% of sensitized cases), but fetal blood may pass into the maternal circulation earlier during the pregnancy (about 14% of sensitized cases). Sensitizing events during pregnancy include c-section, miscarriage, therapeutic abortion, amniocentesis, ectopic pregnancy, abdominal trauma and external cephalic version. However, in many cases there was no apparent sensitizing event.

The incidence of Rh disease in a population depends on the proportion that are rhesus negative. Many non-Caucasian people have a very low proportion who are rhesus negative, so the incidence of Rh disease is very low in these populations. In Caucasian populations about 1 in 10 of all pregnancies are of a rhesus negative woman with a rhesus positive baby. It is very rare for the first rhesus positive baby of a rhesus negative woman to be affected by Rh disease. The first pregnancy with a rhesus positive baby is significant for a rhesus negative woman because she can be sensitized to the Rh positive antigen. In Caucasian populations about 13% of rhesus negative mothers are sensitized by their first pregnancy with a rhesus positive baby. Without modern prevention and treatment, about 5% of the second rhesus positive infants of rhesus negative women would result in stillbirths or extremely sick babies. Many babies who managed to survive would be severely ill. Even higher disease rates would occur in the third and subsequent rhesus positive infants of rhesus negative women. By using anti-RhD immunoglobulin (Rho(D) immune globulin) the incidence is massively reduced.

Rh disease sensitization is about 10 times more likely to occur if the fetus is ABO compatible with the mother than if the mother and fetus are ABO incompatible.

Purpura is a condition of red or purple discolored spots on the skin that do not blanch on applying pressure. The spots are caused by bleeding underneath the skin usually secondary to vasculitis or dietary deficiency of vitamin C (scurvy). They measure 0.3–1 cm (3–10 mm), whereas petechiae measure less than 3 mm, and ecchymoses greater than 1 cm.

Purpura is common with typhus and can be present with meningitis caused by meningococci or septicaemia. In particular, meningococcus ("Neisseria meningitidis"), a Gram-negative diplococcus organism, releases endotoxin when it lyses. Endotoxin activates the Hageman factor (clotting factor XII), which causes disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). The DIC is what appears as a rash on the affected individual.

The disease causes an increased risk of bleeding. The most common sites of bleeding are the umbilicus, mucous membranes, gastrointestinal tract, circumcision and venepunctures.

Newborns are relatively vitamin K deficient for a variety of reasons. They have low vitamin K stores at birth, vitamin K passes the placenta poorly, the levels of vitamin K in breast milk are low and the gut flora has not yet been developed (vitamin K is normally produced by intestinal bacteria).

Purpura hemorrhagica may be prevented by proper management during an outbreak of strangles. This includes isolation of infected horses, disinfection of fomites, and good hygiene by caretakers. Affected horses should be isolated at least one month following infection. Exposed horses should have their temperature taken daily and should be quarantined if it becomes elevated. Prophylactic antimicrobial treatment is not recommended.

Vaccination can reduce the incidence and severity of the disease. However, horses with high SeM antibody titers are more likely to develop purpura hemorrhagica following vaccination and so these horses should not be vaccinated. Titers may be measured by ELISA.

Note that, in neonates, sepsis is difficult to diagnose clinically. They may be relatively asymptomatic until hemodynamic and respiratory collapse is imminent, so, if there is even a remote suspicion of sepsis, they are frequently treated with antibiotics empirically until cultures are sufficiently proven to be negative. In addition to fluid resuscitation and supportive care, a common antibiotic regimen in infants with suspected sepsis is a beta-lactam antibiotic (usually ampicillin) in combination with an aminoglycoside (usually gentamicin) or a third-generation cephalosporin (usually cefotaxime—ceftriaxone is generally avoided in neonates due to the theoretical risk of kernicterus.) The organisms which are targeted are species that predominate in the female genitourinary tract and to which neonates are especially vulnerable to, specifically Group B Streptococcus, "Escherichia coli", and "Listeria monocytogenes" (This is the main rationale for using ampicillin versus other beta-lactams.) Of course, neonates are also vulnerable to other common pathogens that can cause meningitis and bacteremia such as "Streptococcus pneumoniae" and "Neisseria meningitidis". Although uncommon, if anaerobic species are suspected (such as in cases where necrotizing enterocolitis or intestinal perforation is a concern, clindamycin is often added.

Granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is sometimes used in neonatal sepsis. However, a 2009 study found that GM-CSF corrects neutropenia if present but it has no effect on reducing sepsis or improving survival.

Trials of probiotics for prevention of neonatal sepsis have generally been too small and statistically underpowered to detect any benefit, but a randomized controlled trial that enrolled 4,556 neonates in India reported that probiotics significantly reduced the risk of developing sepsis. The probiotic used in the trial was "Lactobacillus plantarum".

A very large meta-analysis investigated the effect of probiotics on preventing late-onset sepsis (LOS) in neonates. Probiotics were found to reduce the risk of LOS, but only in babies who were fed human milk exclusively. It is difficult to distinguish if the prevention was a result of the probiotic supplementation or if it was a result of the properties of human milk. It is also still unclear if probiotic administration reduces LOS risk in extremely low birth weight infants due to the limited number of studies that investigated it. Out of the 37 studies included in this systematic review, none indicated any safety problems related to the probiotics. It would be beneficial to clarify the relationship between probiotic supplementation and human milk for future studies in order to prevent late onset sepsis in neonates.

Prognosis is good with early, aggressive treatment (92% survival in one study).