Causes of Septic shock

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Germs can get into the blood from infection in many different organs, especially the middle ear, the sinuses, the skin, the lungs, the urinary system, the bowel when diverticulitis is present, and the gall bladder.

The condition is especially common in people who have partly lost their defence against infection (immunocompromised people). This may have occurred because of a disorder (such as AISD) in their immune system, or because they have had treatment with immunosuppressive drugs.

It is also common in people with widespread cancer, leukaemia, diabetes, cirrhosis of the liver or major burns.

The toxins produced by many of the bacteria that cause septicaemia can severely damage any of the cells of the body. In this case, the effect of the toxins is mainly on the walls of the small blood vessels, causing them to become leaky so that much fluid is lost from the blood into the surrounding tissues.

The loss of fluid from the blood may be so great that the normal circulation cannot be maintained and the blood pressure drops. This is called acute circulatory failure, or shock. In this case, because it is caused by bacterial toxins, it is called septic shock. If the situation is caused by loss of blood from injury, or loss of fluids from burns, it is known as surgical shock.