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Evidence last reviewed: 14 Feb 2026
Topic last updated: 12 Nov 2025

Summary

Definition

History and exam

Key diagnostic factors

  • hipotensión
  • taquicardia
  • cambios en la piel
  • oliguria
  • cambios en el estado mental
  • presencia de factores de riesgo
  • fiebre
  • dolor torácico
  • disnea
  • hipoxemia
  • hipotermia
Full details

Other diagnostic factors

  • dolor abdominal
  • edema periférico
  • presión venosa yugular (PVY) elevada
  • ruidos cardíacos amortiguados o silenciosos
  • Arritmia
  • erupción petequial
  • erupción urticaria
  • angioedema
  • reducción de los ruidos respiratorios en un lado del pecho
  • Desviación traqueal
  • vejiga distendida
  • parálisis flácida de las extremidades
Full details

Risk factors

  • mayor edad
  • comorbilidades
  • infarto de miocardio
  • cardiomiopatía
  • enfermedad de válvula cardíaca
  • arritmias
  • traumatismo
  • sangrado gastrointestinal
  • rotura de aneurisma aórtico abdominal
  • quemaduras/golpes de calor
  • pérdidas gastrointestinales: diarrea y vómitos
  • pancreatitis
  • sepsis
  • anafilaxia/envenenamiento
  • lesión de la médula espinal o del tallo cerebral
  • enfermedad endocrina
  • embolia pulmonar
  • taponamiento cardíaco
  • inducido por medicamentos
Full details

Diagnostic tests

1st tests to order

  • lactato (de la gasometría arterial)
  • gasometría venosa (GV) o gasometría arterial (GA)
  • glucosa
  • hemograma completo
  • urea y electrolitos
  • estudios de coagulación
  • proteína C-reactiva
  • procalcitonina
  • electrocardiograma (ECG)
Full details

Tests to consider

  • radiografía de tórax
  • Análisis de orina y prueba de embarazo en orina
  • cribado de infección
  • Ecografía en el punto de atención
  • TC de tórax, abdomen y pelvis
  • Angiografía pulmonar por tomografía computarizada (APTC)
  • radiografía de los huesos largos
  • radiografía de la columna vertebral
Full details

Treatment algorithm

ACUTE

todos los pacientes

Contributors

Expert advisers

Alexander Alexiou, MBBS, BSc, DCH, FRCEM, Dip IMC RCSEd

Emergency Medicine Consultant

Barts Health NHS Trust

Physician Response Unit Consultant

London’s Air Ambulance

Royal London Hospital

UK

Disclosures

AA declares that he has no competing interests.

Clovis Rau, MBBS, BSc, FRCEM DipIMC

ST6 Emergency Medicine

Barnet Hospital

Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust

UK

Disclosures

CR declares that he has no competing interests.

Acknowledgements

BMJ Best Practice would like to gratefully acknowledge the previous expert contributor, whose work has been retained in parts of the content:

Samuel J. Stratton MD, MPH

Professor

Fielding School of Public Health

David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Los Angeles

Deputy Health Officer

Orange County Health Care Agency

Health Disaster Management/Emergency Medical Services

Santa Ana

CA

Disclosures

SJS declares that he has no competing interests.

Peer reviewers

Paul Frost

Reader (clinical)

Centre for Medical Education

School of Medicine

Cardiff University

Honorary Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine

University Hospital of Wales

Cardiff

UK

Раскрытие информации

PF declares that he has no competing interests.

Michael Toolis, MBBS, FCICM, GDipClinUS

Consultant Intensivist

Monash Health

Melbourne

Australia

Раскрытие информации

MT declares that he has no competing interests.

Peer reviewer acknowledgements

BMJ Best Practice topics are updated on a rolling basis in line with developments in evidence and guidance. The peer reviewers listed here have reviewed the content at least once during the history of the topic.

Disclosures

Peer reviewer affiliations and disclosures pertain to the time of the review.

Список литературы

Our in-house evidence and editorial teams collaborate with international expert contributors and peer reviewers to ensure that we provide access to the most clinically relevant information possible.

Основные статьи

Evans L, Rhodes A, Alhazzani W, et al. Surviving sepsis campaign: international guidelines for management of sepsis and septic shock 2021. Intensive Care Med. 2021 Nov;47(11):1181-247.Полный текст  Аннотация

Cecconi M, De Backer D, Antonelli M, et al. Consensus on circulatory shock and hemodynamic monitoring: task force of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine. Intensive Care Med. 2014 Dec;40(12):1795-815.Полный текст  Аннотация

McDonagh TA, Metra M, Adamo M, et al. 2021 ESC guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure. Eur Heart J. 2021 Sep 21;42(36):3599-726.Полный текст  Аннотация

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Suspected sepsis: recognition, diagnosis and early management. Mar 2024 [internet publication].Полный текст

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Intravenous fluid therapy in adults in hospital. May 2017 [internet publication].Полный текст

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Major trauma: assessment and initial management. Aug 2023 [internet publication].Полный текст

Статьи, указанные как источники

A full list of sources referenced in this topic is available to users with access to all of BMJ Best Practice.
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