Stages of Shock
Some think of the shock syndrome as a continuum along which the patient struggles to survive. A convenient way to understand the physiologic responses and subsequent clinical signs and symptoms is to divide the continuum into separate stages: compensatory, progressive, and irreversible. (Although some authorities identify an initial stage of shock, changes attributed to this stage occur at the cellular level and are generally not detectable clinically.) The earlier that medical management and nursing interventions can be initiated along this continuum, the greater the patient’s chance of survival.
You can see the Clinical Findings in Stages of Shock.
