Any one can help me with this septic shock state? -

Which set of clinical manifestations is highly characteristic of a septic shock state? a. Tachycardia, generalized edema, and warm skin b. Confusion, bradycardia, and truncal rash c. Severe respiratory distress, jugular venous distention, and chest pain d. Decreased cardiac output, hypertension, and poor skin turgor

a. Tachycardia, generalized edema, and warm skin Septic shock is a high output shock due to vasodilatation caused by bacterial endotoxin. Hence skin can be warm, unlike in other forms of shock.

I d say the answer would be (a), because with infection, the patient would have tachycardia (especially if the BP is crashing). Generalized edema would be present due to changes caused by an inflammatory response (quot;leakyquot; vessels, causing fluid to leak into the interstitial space). Warm skin would be present if the patient had a fever. In late sepsis, skin may be cold and mottled due to shunting (circulatory shut-down). Wouldn t be (b), because bradycardia is not associated with shock. Wouldn t be (d) because hypotension is present in septic shock. And I can t see why (c) would be the answer, since respiratory distress isn t a defining characteristic of shock.