Signs of septic shock include:
Abnormal heart rhythms, often a fast heart rate
Reduced blood pressure
Decreased urine output
Altered mental status
Anaphylactic shock is caused by a severe anaphylactic reaction to an allergen, antigen, drug, or foreign protein causing the release of histamine which causes widespread vasodilation, leading to hypotension and increased capillary permeability. Signs typically occur after exposure to an allergen and may include:
Skin changes, such as hives, itching, flushing, and swelling. Wheezing and shortness of breath. Abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting. Lightheadedness, confusion, headaches, loss of consciousness. High spinal injuries may cause neurogenic shock, which is commonly classified as a subset of distributive shock. The classic symptoms include a slow heart rate due to loss of cardiac sympathetic tone and warm skin due to dilation of the peripheral blood vessels. (This term can be confused with spinal shock which is a recoverable loss of function of the spinal cord after injury and does not refer to the hemodynamic instability.) Endocrine
Although not officially classified as a subcategory of shock, many endocrinology disturbances in their severe form can result in shock. Hypothyroidism (can be considered a form of cardiogenic shock) in people who are critically ill patients, reduces cardiac output and can lead to hypotension and respiratory insufficiency. Thyrotoxicosis (cardiogenic shock) may induce a reversible cardiomyopathy. Acute adrenal insufficiency (distributive shock) is frequently the result of discontinuing corticosteroid treatment without tapering the dosage. However, surgery and intercurrent disease in patients on corticosteroid therapy without adjusting the dosage to accommodate for increased requirements may also result in this condition.
Low volume, anaphylactic, and neurogenic shock are readily treatable and respond well to medical therapy. Septic shock, especially septic shock where treatment is delayed or the antimicrobial drugs are ineffective, however has a mortality rate between 30% and 80%; cardiogenic shock has a mortality rate of up to 70% to 90%, though quick treatment with vasopressors and inotropic drugs, cardiac surgery, and the use of assistive devices can lower the mortality. History
There is no evidence of the word shock being used in its modern-day form prior to 1743. However, there is evidence that Hippocrates used the word exemia to signify a state of being "drained of blood". Shock or "choc" was first described in a trauma victim in the English translation of Henri-François LeDrans 1740 text, Traité ou Reflexions Tirees de la Pratique sur les Playes darmes à feu (A treatise, or reflections, drawn from practice on gun-shot wounds.) In this text he describes "choc" as a reaction to the sudden impact of a missile. However, the first English writer to use the word shock in its modern-day connotation was James Latta, in 1795. Prior to World War I, there were several competing hypotheses behind the pathophysiology of shock. Of the various theories, the most well regarded was a theory penned by George W. Crile who suggested in his 1899 monograph, "An Experimental Research into Surgical Shock", that shock was quintessentially defined as a state of circulatory collapse (vasodilation) due to excessive nervous stimulation.