Shock Flashcards
How common is shock?
Affects 1/3 of patients in critical care at any given time
What is shock?
Syndrome in which tissue perfusion is inadequate for the tissue’s metabolic requirement
What is the underlying cause of shock?
State of cellular and tissue hypoxia due to either reduced oxygen delivery, increased oxygen consumption, inadequate oxygen utilisation or a combination of all three
What does normal tissue perfusion rely on?
Cardiac function, capacity of vascular bed and circulating blood volume
How is normal perfusion measured?
Difficult to measure clinically = blood pressure most commonly used surrogate
What are the classifications of shock?
Hypovolaemic, cardiogenic, distributive, obstructive, endocrine
What are the causes of hypovolaemic shock?
Most commonly acute haemorrhage
Also severe dehydration and burns
What is the pathophysiology of hypovolaemic shock?
Volume depletion causes reduced SVR and subsequent vasoconstriction = reduced pre-load reduces cardiac output
What occurs in cardiogenic shock?
Pump failure = reduced cardiac output
What are the causes of cardiogenic shock?
Primarily due to ischaemia induced by an MI
Cardiomyopathies, valvular problems and dysrhythmias
What does cardiogenic shock occurring due to an MI suggest?
Suggests that >40% of left ventricle is involved
What is the mortality of cardiogenic shock?
> 75% unless due to a reversible cause
What is obstructive shock?
Mechanical obstruction to normal cardiac output in an otherwise normal heart
What are the causes of obstructive shock?
Direct obstruction to cardiac output = PE, air embolism
Restriction of cardiac filling = tamponade, tension pneumothorax
What are the causes of distributive shock?
Hot shock = sepsis, anaphylaxis, acute liver failure, spinal cord injuries
What is the mechanism of distributive shock?
Due to disruption of normal vascular autoregulation and profound vasodilation
What are the features of distributive shock?
Poor perfusion despite increased cardiac output
Regional perfusion differences
Alteration of oxygen extraction
What are some causes of endocrine shock?
Severe uncorrected hypothyroidism and Addisonian crisis = reduce cardiac output and cause vasodilation
Thyrotoxicosis causes shock paradoxically
What is the most common class of shock?
Distributive shock
Is it common for patients to have a mixed picture of different types of shock?
Yes
What is the sympatho-adrenal response?
Pathways to preserve normal cardiac output and hence blood pressure
To what extent do organs have their own autoregulatory sympatho-adrenal response?
Organs have degree of autoregulation between MAP of 50 or 60 through to 150
How does the sympathetic system respond to decreased blood pressure?
Sensed by baroreceptors and chemoreceptors = information travels to vasomotor centre to increase sympathetic activity to heart
How do the adrenals respond to decreased blood volume?
Adrenal medulla increases NA and adrenaline secretion and activates RAAS to increase salt and water = increases circulating volume
What does the neuroendocrine response involve?
Release of pituitary hormones = ACTH, ADH, endogenous opiates
Release of cortisol = fluid retention, insulin antagonism
Release of glucagon
What type of shock blunts the ACTH response?
Septic shock
What is the pathophysiology of shock?
Cascade of inflammatory mediators as a consequence of cellular ischaemia = causes cycle of vasoconstriction and oedema which worsens cellular ischaemia
What does cellular hypoxia cause?
Local vasoconstriction, thrombosis, regional variations in perfusion, release of free radicals and direct cellular trauma
What does neutrophil activation due to cellular hypoxia cause?
Release of pro-inflammatory cytokines