[Shock - Review for Clinicians].

Diagnosing and managing patients in shock is a challenge for the treating clinicians in acute medicine. Early diagnosis and treatment are crucial. Mortality of septic shock is between 40 % and 60 %, and that of the cardiogenic shock about 40 %. This article provides an overview of diagnostic approaches to the patient in shock, different aetiologies and treatment strategies, and it guides the clinician through the management from first contact until definite treatment. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.