Question

After sustaining injuries in a motor vehicle accident, a patient experiences a decrease in blood pressure and an increase in heart rate and respiratory rate despite surgical intervention and fluid resuscitation. Which stage of the general adaptation syndrome is the patient most likely experiencing?

1)
Alarm
2)
Resistance
3)
Exhaustion
4)
Recovery

Answer 1

The patient with decreased blood pressure and increased heart and respiratory rates, despite treatment, is likely in the exhaustion stage of Selye's general adaptation syndrome, indicating a depletion of the body's physiological resources due to prolonged stress.

Step-by-step explanation:

The patient is most likely experiencing the stage of exhaustion (3), which is characterized by a depletion of the body's resources following prolonged stress.

In the stage of exhaustion, the body's physiological resources are depleted after extended periods of stress. Unlike the alarm reaction stage, which is an immediate response to stress, or the resistance stage, where the body adapts to the stressor, the exhaustion stage arises when the stress continues for a long term and the body can no longer sustain resistance.

Common symptoms during this stage include depression, immune suppression, severe fatigue, or even fatal consequences such as heart attacks. This stage follows the initial adrenaline-driven reactions of the alarm stage and the adapted responses of the resistance stage, leading to a state where the body's endurance against stress is compromised due to continued activation of stress hormones like cortisol.