septic shock

noun

Definition of septic shock

: a severe form of sepsis that is associated with profound, life-threatening circulatory, cellular, and metabolic abnormalities, that is marked especially by increased capillary permeability and vasodilation resulting in persistent, dangerously low blood pressure and reduced blood flow despite fluid administration, and that leads to multiple organ failure By many estimates, sepsis—and its most severe form, septic shock—is the leading cause of death for intensive care patients in the U.S. and the 10th most common cause of death for everyone else in the country.— Maryn McKenna

Examples of septic shock in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The actor died Sunday at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center from cardiac arrest with multi-system organ failures due to septic shock and metastatic adenocarcinoma, a representative for Robinson confirmed to PEOPLE. — Katie Campione, PEOPLE.com, 12 July 2021 As reported via the official Dragon Quest blog, Sugiyama died on September 30 of septic shock. — Ollie Barder, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2021 After her third chemo session, Francesca caught a fungal infection that sent her into septic shock. — Marco Della Cava, USA TODAY, 25 Dec. 2021 At the time, their daughter, Quintana, was unconscious in the intensive-care unit at Beth Israel hospital, suffering from pneumonia that had turned into septic shock. — Alessandra Codinha, Vogue, 23 Dec. 2021 They were well settled into life there when, in late 2003, Quintana was hit by a series of illnesses: flu symptoms that ballooned into pneumonia and septic shock and finally landed her in a coma. — Los Angeles Times, 23 Dec. 2021 Sepsis and septic shock happen because our bodies are responding to an infection. — Al.com, al, 4 Aug. 2021 At that point, Torres said, a patient is at risk of sepsis — a dangerous overdrive of the immune system in response to an infection — or septic shock, when organs start to fail. — NBC News, 15 Oct. 2021 Goal: Determine optimal treatment—drugs that constrict blood vessels plus limited fluids, or a larger volume of fluids alone—for people with life-threatening septic shock. — Charles Piller, Science | AAAS, 12 Aug. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'septic shock.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

15 Jan 2022

Cite this Entry

“Septic shock.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/septic%20shock. Accessed 29 Jan. 2022.

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More Definitions for septic shock

septic shock

noun

Medical Definition of septic shock

: a severe form of sepsis that is associated with profound, life-threatening circulatory, cellular, and metabolic abnormalities, is marked especially by increased capillary permeability and vasodilation resulting in persistent, dangerously low blood and reduced blood flow pressure despite fluid administration, and that leads to multiple organ failure