University of Nebraska Medical Center DigitalCommons@UNMC MD Theses Special Collections 5-1-1939 Traumatic shock Robert E. Barton University of Nebraska Medical Center This manuscript is historical in nature and may not reflect current medical research and practice. Search PubMed for current research. Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unmc.edu/mdtheses Part of the Medical Education Commons Recommended Citation Barton, Robert E., "Traumatic shock" (1939). MD Theses. 719. https://digitalcommons.unmc.edu/mdtheses/719 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Special Collections at DigitalCommons@UNMC. It has been accepted for inclusion in MD Theses by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UNMC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. -' TBA ID4A.TIC SHOCK Robert E. Bartoa Senior fteaia - Presente4 to &e mu:v:ersit7 of liebre.aka. Co1lege of Medicine Omaha. - 1959 TABLE OF CON TENTS I - Clinical Picture II - Mechanism: Basie Faotore III- Mechsnism: Ultimate Factors IV - Personal Reflections V - Modern Conception. TI - Me.nagemen~ 481010 l PREFACE Because of its mysterious onset and nature, traumatic shock has lou.g suggeste4 problema of UD..usual cli.niceJ. awl scientific interest. It• frequent occurrence eapeoiall.7 in association with severe wolUlla anl extensive surgical operations renders a solution of these probleme particularlN important. Notw1thataadillg the large amount of attention which it has receiTed ani the resulting Toluminous literature deTotel to this subject, the conception of the ultime.te Dature of the phenomenon of shock at the present time stands not ill universal agreeaqt. It woul4 be of little practical va.l.ue to examine in detail all of the literature aTailable on the subject, for many of the older ideas relevant to the aature of tra111l8tie shock have been definitel.J' iiaproven. Furthermore, muoh of the literature showa extensive recapitulation. HoweTer, reference •111 be made to some of the more notable attempt& to aolYe the problem bJ ce.rtaia prominent inveatigators. As a result of observa­ ~io.us me.de during the World War by members of the Shock Commission, a lltlmber of facts stand out to disprove 2 ma.Q oia. theories ant1 provide a basis for the devel­ opment of new oaea. outstanding among these reeearehers waa Cannoa. profeasor of pQ'aiologJ at Hane.rd. whoa• brilliant work ai Beth.ue perhaps aontribute4 more toward the modern coaceptioa of traumatic shook than that of a.Q other 111.vestigator. It ia the purpoee of thia theaia to set forth, firet of e.11, the cliaieal features of shook; aecoat\17, aaaocia.ted baaie factors; thir4l.7, theoretical ultimate faotore; fouzthl.7, the reelll.tant of the ntlllerous clinical ant experimental obaervatioas, 1.e., the modern eonoeption of traumatic shook; ani fiaallJ fifthl.J', ratioaal thera­ peutics aa pertains to thia eoaditioa. I ~ CLINICAL PICTURI For many 7eara, aurgeou have noted a atarlling clillieal. picture whieh appears 1Jll patieata followiag aevere 1n3uriea. MaJl1' ll&lllea have been given to thia aya­ iroae, ad4.ing further to the co.n:fusioa of its uni.e:rstancting, but notwithatandi.ag Dl8.n7 objec.tiona the term shock haa been almoat wli.versall.y adopted and was first used b7 Latta in 1795 to 4eaigute this coniitioa. Shook appea.ra typically in patient• after ex.­ tensive surgical. operations ani in vietima of burns, war wounla, ani industrial ant transportatioaal accidents. The common occurrence of this complication in the World War lei to the formation of a eommission of surg•oas anl p:Q.ysiologista to study its nature. This effort which is deseribe4 in Cannon's monograph on "Ti-aumatic Shook" was productive of 11.x_perimental and elinieal. evidence that went far toward the eluoidation of the problem. Cl.inieal. accounts of shock through the 7ears have varied somewhat since earl.ier obeeners appliei. the term loosely to diverse aoaditions associated •1th sudden weakness, fainting, unoonsciousnesa, and sudden death. On the other hand, there were some very aacurate ea~l7 descriptions of shock that are in aooori with our 4 present-lay 01111.ical reeognition of thia coad.ition. The following is an abbreviation of an aaeouat given by Fiaohe:r ( ' ) 1a 1870. The patient, a strong and perfeet:ty heal.thy young man, we.a atruck in the abdomen by a pole of a carriage ira11n by runa.wa1 horaea • .A.fter careful. eXUliaation, there waa nothing founi. to iaiicate an injury to &BY of the internal. organs. Never-.. thel.eaa, the grave symptoms ancl the a].arai.o.g look which he still. presents male their appearance immediately after the aocileat. He J.iea perfectl7 quiet and pa.ya no attention whatever to events about him. fhe pupils are dilated and react slowly to light. He stares purposelessly ancl apathetically straight before him. His akin ana. suc.h parte of the mucous .raembranes as are visible are as pale aa marble, an4 his ha.n.i.s a.ad lipa have a bl.uiah tiage. Large dropa of sweat hang oa llis forehead and eyebrowa, his whole body feels cold to ta. he.nd, a.ad a thermometer indicates a degree an.cl a h&.l.f Centigrade ia the axilla ancl a degree in the rectllm. below normal. Sensibility is much blunted over the whole body, and only when a very painful. impression is made on the patient does he fretfullJ' make a wr1 face and thea a languid iefensive movement. If the limbs are lifted and then let go, they imrnediateJ.y fall aa if dead. 5 ~he uril.\e is soant7 and dense but free from any traces of auga~ and alblllllea. The pulse is e.laoet iJaperoeptillle ana. very rapid. The patient is conscious, but replies •101117 and onl.1 when repeated17 and importunely quea~­ i1oaei. Oa being thus queetioned, he oomplains of eol4, faintness, and leadneas of the '9Xtremities. Bia voice is hoarse. Ria reepiratioa 1a characterised by long, ieep, sighiag inspirations alternatiag with very superficial ones which are scarcel,J' visibl.e or audible. While being brought to the hospital, he vomited several times, and nausea and hicooughs still remain. A typical case of woUD.4 shock aa desoribed by Caaaoa ( {, ) may be briefly svmmerized. A man belonging to the garrison we.a wounded by a bomb which partly shattered the forepart of his foot and sprink1ei his neck and shoulder with tiny fragments. Ria chum, stand­ ing by his aide, was killed. !I!he blood pressure, which waa l.l.0/70 mm Hg a short while previously, wae still the same immediately after he was wouaded. It was a eol4 night with a ohill.J' 111.ud -.nitae the mall waare&i'ried along shallow trenehea 111a41ag over a hill, he became colder and cold~. At this time, too, there waa oooasioaa1 enemy aotivity. By the time he reached the aid post, aa hour a.ui a half later, he was pulaeless. filo hours later. when examined at the next post, he waa stil.1 pulseless, and a serious view wae taken of his eondition. He was hurried on to the casualty clearing station where he arrived with a blood pressure of 60/65 mm Hg and no palpable pulse. After being warmed up 1a bed, the pulse soon returned and the shock passed off in the absence of any heroic measures of treatment. When this characteristic syndrome occurs shortly after trauma or during the course of an operation, it is designated aa primary shock; when tlae S1Df.ptoms are i.elayed until seTeral. hours after an 1njur1 or operation. it 1a designated as second­ ary shock. The primary type is relativel.y transient and resemblea the nerToue phenomena of fainting or ia aaaoeiated with so extensive destruetioa of tissue aa to make conti.uuanoe of life impossible. Siua such cases either recover without treatment, at least temporarily. or are hopeless, primary shook does not constitute as important a. clinical problem as does secondary shock. Consequently, to thie latter type. laboratory and field investigators ha.Te chiefl7 directei. their researchea. It is iaporta.Jlt to mention here that Blalock ( a ) , a recent investigator• empha­ sizes the fact that fundamental physiologic disturb­ aneee associated with prima.ry an4 secondary shock may '1 ....• ~ ... - co-exist. In order to elarify the course of events in primary e.M. seoonda.r~ shock, Cowell { 1 ) ha.a represented graphioall7 the blood pressure changes tat JUJ be aeea in oaaes of oae or other of the two types. Refer to fig. l, p.8 aai to fig. 2. p.9. 8 PRIMARY WOUND SHOCK - ONSET AND COURSE -Hrs.- 120 110 100 90 ~ , I I \ 80 \ :B. \ l\D ?O I - . P. 60 \ E ' IS 50 40 11 30 ll 0 l 2 3 4 5 Fig. l. Following the receipt of a severe injury, such that death must ensue or life oan be saved only by prompt surgical intervention, instant shock appears. Thia may be fatal. in a. short time (A). If a.l.l precautions are taken in the careful transit of tha patient, the blood pressure may rise enroute (C) or remain leve1 without further drop (BE). After lapse of a few hours, the con­ dition of primary wound shock may merge into that of seaondary wound shock (D or E). 9 SECONDARY ~·; oUND SHOCX - ONSET Ah"'D COURSE -Hrs.- 120 110 II re \ I 100 I 90 \ ' ' I f 80 B. 70 v / :p . a '( I 60 \ 50 40 \ 30 \., 0 l 2 3 4 5 Fig. 2.. In many wound aaaea, the blood pressure will remain level (A). In others, as a. result of hemorrhage.