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Septic Shock Research Paper

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Septic shock is the stage of sepsis when multiple organ failure is evident and uncontrolled bleeding of the body occurs. Septic shock results from the complication of an infection where toxins initiate a full body inflammatory response. Viral, fungal, and bacterial infections can all lead to septic shock, but the most common causes of sepsis are gram- negative bacteria and gram-positive bacteria. Sepsis causes severe hypovolemic shock and hypodynamic cardiac function to affect the body, platelets and clotting factors are consumed and thus the body cannot clot blood. Capillary leak occurs and cardiac contractility is poor from cellular ischemia (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2011). For a person to be diagnosed with septic shock, they must have symptoms …show more content…

Diagnosis is often made with a blood test. This type of test can determine if any of the following factors are present: bacteria in the blood, problems with clotting due to low platelet count, excess waste products in the blood, abnormal liver or kidney function, decreased amount of oxygen, or electrolyte imbalance. Depending on your symptoms and the results of the blood test, there are other tests that a doctor may want to perform to determine the source of your infection. Other tests that can be performed include: urine test, wound secretion test (if you have an open area that looks infected), mucus secretion test (to see what type of germ is behind the infection), or a brain and spinal fluid test. In cases where the source of the infection is not clear from the tests, a doctor might want to get an internal view of your body using X-rays, computed tomography scan, ultrasound or a magnetic resonance imaging. X-rays allow a doctor to get a good view of the lungs while a computed tomography (CT) scans provides a view of possible infections in the appendix, pancreas, or bowel areas. An ultrasound shows a view of infections in the gallbladder or ovaries and the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) gives doctors a view of any soft tissue infections, such as spinal

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