Emergency physicians and intensivists routinely resuscitate patients in shock.
For patients who manifest signs of persistent shock (i.e., rising lactate), consider intubation and mechanical ventilation, even in the absence of acute respiratory failure.
The respiratory muscles are avid consumers of oxygen. In fact, up to 50% of available O2 can be used by the respiratory muscles to perform the work of breathing.
Initiation of mechanical ventilation can reduce oxygen consumption and allow oxygen to be shunted to other vital organs.
References
Gidwani H, Gomez H. The crashing patient: hemodynamic collapse. Curr Opin Crit Care 2017; 23:533-540.
