Aetiology

Causes of shock include:

• cardiac failure:
  • pump failure e.g. myocardial infarction, cor pulmonale
  • cardiac arrhythmias
    
    
• sepsis:
  • overwhelming infection e.g. in liver failure
    
    
• anaphylaxis
  
  
• endocrine:
  • Addisonian crisis
  • hypothyroidism
    
    
• bleeding e.g. aortic aneurysm, ectopic pregnancy
  
  
• fluid loss:
  • vomiting e.g. gastrointestinal obstruction
  • profuse diarrhoea e.g. cholera
  • burns
  • fluid lost via sequestering into body spaces - third spacing in pancreatitis
    
    
• drug induced - e.g. antihypertensives, anaesthetics