China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
First Aid and Ambulance Work
Published in Debi Prasad Tripathy, Mine Safety Science and Engineering, 2019
Shock is a medical condition that develops when the body is not getting sufficient blood flow. Lack of blood flow means the cells and organs are not getting enough oxygen. Shock can happen due to heart problems, such as heart failure or heart attack, allergic reactions, low blood volume because of dehydration or bleeding, infection, damage to nervous system, or spinal injury (Medline, 2018).
Emergency Preparedness and Response
Published in Neil McManus, Safety and Health in Confined Spaces, 2018
The condition that forms the basis for the concept of the “golden hour” is shock. Shock is the state of inadequate perfusion of the cells of the body. Perfusion is the flow of blood to and from the cells. Proper cellular function requires adequate perfusion, since this supplies oxygen and nutrients and removes wastes. The outcome from inadequate perfusion occurs in the following sequence of ever-increasing consequence: cessation of cellular function → cell death → tissue death → organ death → body death. The intent of rapid intervention as early as possible within the “golden hour” is to interrupt this sequence, preferably before cessation of cellular function occurs.
Resources
Published in Raymond J. Colvin, The Guidebook to Successful Safety Programming, 1992
• Shock. Keep the person lying down and warm but not hot; perspiration is harmful. A conscious shock victim should be encouraged (not forced) to drink frequent small amounts of fluid, preferably saline — not alcohol and nothing very hot or very cold. Shock as a result of severe injury can cause death, even when the injury itself might otherwise not prove fatal. Therefore, it must be given priority of treatment. The victim of a serious injury may not realize his susceptibility to shock: as a preventive action, he should be treated for shock regardless.
Oxygen: a new look at an old therapy
Published in Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 2019
Richard Beasley, Diane Mackle, Paul Young
Hypoxaemia is defined as an abnormally low level of oxygen in the arterial blood, which is traditionally set at a PaO2 of <60 mmHg, or an arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) of <90% (O’Driscoll et al. 2017). Hypoxaemia can be caused by a number of mechanisms, including reduced inspired oxygen tension (for example, at altitude), reduced ventilatory drive (for example, narcotic overdose), or impaired lung function (for example, pneumonia). In contrast, hypoxia is defined as a reduction of oxygen supply at the tissue level, which cannot be directly measured in clinical practice (O’Driscoll et al. 2017). In addition to hypoxaemia, other causes of hypoxia include anaemia, severe sepsis, poor cardiovascular function or cellular dysfunction. Hypoxia may lead to cell injury by reducing aerobic oxidative respiration, and if severe and prolonged may result in cell death. Clinically, lack of oxygen delivery to the tissues is the defining feature of ‘shock’, a condition which may rapidly lead to progressive multi-organ dysfunction, and risk of death.