Anaphylactic Shock

Discussion 2: Anaphylactic ShockThe treatment of anaphylactic shock varies depending on a

patient’s physiological response to the alteration. Immediate medical intervention and
emergency room visits are vital for some patients, while others can be treated through basic
outpatient care.Consider the January 2012 report of a 6-year-old girl who went to her
school nurse complaining of hives and shortness of breath. Since the school did not have
any medication under her name to use for treatment and was not equipped to handle her
condition, she was sent to an emergency room where she was pronounced dead. This
situation has raised numerous questions about the progression of allergic reactions, how to
treat students with severe allergies, how to treat students who develop allergic reactions
for the first time, and the availability of epinephrine in schools. If you were the nurse at the
girl’s school, how would you have handled the situation? How do you know when it is
appropriate to treat patients yourself and when to refer them to emergency care?To
Prepare· Review “Anaphylactic Shock” in Chapter 23 of the Huether and McCance text,
“Distributive Shock” in Chapter 10 of the McPhee and Hammer text, and the Jacobsen and
Gratton article in the Learning Resources.· Identify the multisystem physiologic
progression that occurs in anaphylactic shock. Think about how these multisystem events
can occur in a very short period of time.· Consider when you should refer patients to
emergency care versus treating as an outpatient.· Select two patient factors different
from the one you selected in this week’s first Discussion: genetics, gender, ethnicity, age, or
behavior. Reflect on how the factors you selected might impact the process of anaphylactic
shock.Post an explanation of the physiological progression that occurs in anaphylactic
shock. Then, describe the circumstances under which you would refer patients for
emergency care versus treating as an outpatient. Finally, explain how the patient factors
you selected might impact the process of anaphylactic shock.