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Shock Overview

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Emergency Department Critical Care

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Abstract

Shock is a clinical syndrome characterized by inadequate tissue perfusion of oxygen and other nutrients, resulting in cellular injury and oxygen debt. Lactic acidosis is the result of this process. Hypotension is common, but not always present in patients with shock. If not interrupted, the cascade of cell death, end-organ damage, and multisystem organ dysfunction can cause significant morbidity and death. Clinicians should focus on early recognition of shock and proceed expeditiously with both resuscitation and identification of the etiology of shock. Four categories of shock (hypovolemic, cardiogenic, obstructive, and distributive) and their etiologies and features are described. Fluid resuscitation, optimization of mean arterial pressure (MAP), attention to adequate oxygenation, and treatment of the underlying cause of shock should be early priorities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Emergency Medicine, Orlando Regional Medical Center, Orlando, FL, USA

    Sara Y. Baker, Amanda F. Tarkowski & Jay L. Falk

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  1. Sara Y. Baker
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  2. Amanda F. Tarkowski
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  3. Jay L. Falk
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Medicine, University of Florida Health Science Center, Jacksonville, FL, USA

    Joseph R. Shiber

  2. Resuscitation & Emergency Critical Care, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA

    Scott D. Weingart

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Baker, S.Y., Tarkowski, A.F., Falk, J.L. (2020). Shock Overview. In: Shiber, J., Weingart, S. (eds) Emergency Department Critical Care. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28794-8_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28794-8_1

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