Final answer:
Septic shock is characterized by sudden high fever, severe hypotension, and rapid organ failure. Symptoms may include ARDS, hypoxemia, and necrotizing fasciitis, often caused by an overwhelming immune response to infection, particularly from gram-negative bacteria.
Step-by-step explanation:
Septic shock is a severe and potentially fatal medical condition that arises from sepsis, where the body's response to an infection results in their damaging organs and tissues. The most common signs and symptoms of septic shock include sudden high fever, hypotension (life-threatening decrease in blood pressure), and rapid onset of organ failure. Other symptoms can include vomiting, diarrhea, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), hypoxemia, and necrotizing fasciitis. In cases where gram-negative bacterial infection is the cause, large amounts of endotoxins such as lipopolysaccharides (LPS) trigger an overwhelming inflammatory response that can lead to intravascular clotting, multi-organ failure, and death.
Those with septic shock may experience severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), characterized by fluid buildup in the lungs that reduces oxygen levels in the blood (hypoxemia), causing difficulty in breathing. When shock occurs, it is due to the body's immune system response. Phagocytes engulf bacteria, releasing tumor necrosis factor, leading to an increase in capillary permeability, which causes the escape of fluids into tissues (edema), and a subsequent drop in blood pressure. Gram-negative bacteria, for instance, engage the immune system in such a way that can lead to multi-organ failure, shock, and possibly death.