Exams and Tests

The approach to the patient in shock requires that treatment occur at the same time as the diagnosis occurs. The source of the underlying disease needs to be found. Sometimes it is obvious, for example, a trauma victim bleeding from a wound. Other times, the diagnosis is elusive. The type of tests will depend upon the underlying condition.

That said, the diagnosis is most often found through the medical history. A thorough physical examination will be undertaken and the patients vital signs monitored.

• Patient vital signs monitored might include continual blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen measurement. Special catheters may be inserted into the large veins in the neck, chest, arm, or groin and threaded near the heart or into the pulmonary artery, to measure central pressures, which may be a better indicator of the body's fluid status. Other catheters may be inserted into arteries (arterial lines) to measure blood pressures more directly. Tubes may be placed in the bladder (Foley catheter) to measure urine output.
  
  
• Blood laboratory tests will be performed (the type dependent on the underlying disease or condition).
  
  
• Radiologic tests may be performed, again dependent on the underlying illness.