Intensive Care of Acute Poisoning - A. V. Hovenko 2010

General Characteristics of Acute Poisoning
Exotoxic Shock
Diagnosis of Exotoxic Shock

Shock is primarily a clinical syndrome triggered by a specific etiological factor, such as a chemical agent causing poisoning.

From a pathophysiological standpoint, shock is a dynamic process associated with the failure of central, regional, and peripheral Circulation, leading to metabolic disturbances as well as Functional and Structural changes in Organs and Tissues. Its progression involves three stages: a critical pre-shock state, early shock, and fully developed clinical shock.

When typical clinical symptoms are present, diagnosing Exotoxic shock is straightforward. The Diagnosis is based on: a severe chemical injury confirmed by toxicological tests, relevant clinical manifestations, and shifts in key hemodynamic parameters by more than 20% compared to baseline values. Hemodynamic disturbances during shock are persistent and most characteristic features, making them reliable diagnostic criteria for shock.

Exotoxic shock is classified into compensated shock (hemodynamic changes do not exceed 40% of normal values), decompensated shock (hemodynamic parameters deviate by 40–60% from baseline), and conditionally irreversible exotoxic shock (parameter changes exceed 60% of normal and are refractory to correction). It must be borne in mind that no single parameter alone can serve as a criterion for the severity and prognosis of exotoxic shock. The most reliable criteria are The Cardiovascular system's response and the dynamics of the clinical status following intensive anti-shock therapy.



Last update: 08/08/2026

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