Hypovolemic shock is one of the major problems we encounter in acute critical illness. This tutorial explains the mechanisms by which the body compensates for hemorrhage/hypovolemia, why the blood pressure and hemoglobin saturation are unhelpful and what tools may be useful at the bedside to assess the patient.
I also briefly discuss resuscitation of the bleeding patient and compartment syndromes.
This tutorial looks at the problems of Hypotension and Shock. I define the difference between the concepts – not all hypotensive patients are shocked and not all shocked patients are hypotensive. I then go through a system for exploring the hypotensive or shocked patients’ status to determine the underlying problem – illustrated by a series of clinical scenarios.
One of the most common physiologic and pathologic abnormalities that we get called for is dysfunctional blood pressure: hypotension and hypertension. This tutorial looks at the question – “What is Blood Pressure” the components and its regulation. I then go on to discuss arterial pressure monitoring, invasive (via arterial lines) and non invasive (using oscillometers) and the strengths and weaknesses of both.
ORtoICU 