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Last reviewed: 19 Jan 2026
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

Disclosures

PF declares that he has no competing interests.

Michael Toolis, MBBS, FCICM, GDipClinUS

Consultant Intensivist

Monash Health

Melbourne

Australia

Disclosures

MT declares that he has no competing interests.

Peer reviewer acknowledgements

Os tópicos do BMJ Best Practice são constantemente atualizados, seguindo os desenvolvimentos das evidências e das diretrizes. Os pareceristas aqui listados revisaram o conteúdo pelo menos uma vez durante a história do tópico.

Declarações

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Referências

Nossas equipes internas de editoria e de evidências trabalham em conjunto com colaboradores internacionais especializados e pares revisores para garantir que forneçamos acesso às informações o mais clinicamente relevantes possível.

Principais artigos

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.Texto completo  Resumo

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.Texto completo  Resumo

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.Texto completo  Resumo

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

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

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

Artigos de referência

Uma lista completa das fontes referenciadas neste tópico está disponível para os usuários com acesso total ao BMJ Best Practice.
  • Diagnósticos diferenciais

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    • Síncope o presíncope
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  • Diretrizes

    • Surviving Sepsis Campaign: international guidelines for management of sepsis and septic shock, 2021
    • ESC guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure
    Mais Diretrizes
  • Calculadoras

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    Rehidratación para lesiones por quemaduras, adultos (estimación de cristaloides de Parkland)

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  • Folhetos informativos para os pacientes

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