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To elucidate the clinical spectrum of pediatric shock, investigators studied all patients younger than 18 years with shock at a Nevada pediatric emergency department (ED) from 1998 to 2006. Three pediatric emergency physicians reviewed charts to extract data on clinical signs of shock as defined by the Pediatric Advanced Life Support guidelines. Patients who suffered cardiac arrest or major trauma were excluded.
A total of 147 patients met inclusion criteria, which translates to 1 out of 1600 patients who presented during the study period. The most common category of shock was septic (57%), followed by hypovolemic (24%), distributive (14%), and cardiogenic (5%). Twenty-one patients (14%) presented without clinical signs of shock but develope…