Type of shock when infection causes damage to the walls of the blood vessels, causing vasodilation and leakage of fluid from capillaries into the interstitial space?

• A. Septic shock
• B. Hypovolemic shock
• C. Neurogenic shock
• D. Anaphylactic shock

Answer: (A)

Infection-driven systemic inflammation leads to septic shock, where the body’s response to infection causes widespread vasodilation and damage to the lining of blood vessels. This increases capillary permeability, so fluid leaks from the vessels into the interstitial space, reducing circulating blood volume and impairing organ perfusion. The description—an infection causing damage to vessel walls, followed by vasodilation and fluid leakage into surrounding tissues—is the hallmark of septic shock.

Other shocks don’t fit this scenario as well. Hypovolemic shock results mainly from a loss of blood or fluids, not from infection-driven vessel changes. Neurogenic shock stems from loss of sympathetic nerve tone after injury, leading to vasodilation but not from an infectious process. Anaphylactic shock involves a severe allergic reaction with massive vasodilation and capillary leak, but it’s triggered by allergens, not by infection.