30 lines
1.8 KiB
Markdown
30 lines
1.8 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Decompensation"
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chunk: 1/1
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source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decompensation"
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category: "reference"
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tags: "science, encyclopedia"
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date_saved: "2026-05-05T07:27:37.741951+00:00"
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instance: "kb-cron"
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---
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In medicine, decompensation is the functional deterioration of a structure or system that had been previously working with the help of compensation. Decompensation may occur due to fatigue, stress, illness, or old age. When a system is "compensated", it is able to function despite stressors or defects. Decompensation describes an inability to compensate for these deficiencies. It is a general term commonly used in medicine to describe a variety of situations.
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== Medical term ==
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For example, cardiac decompensation may refer to the failure of the heart to maintain adequate blood circulation, after long-standing (previously compensated) vascular disease (see heart failure). Short-term treatment of cardiac decompensation can be achieved through administration of dobutamine, resulting in an increase in heart contractility via an inotropic effect.
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Kidney failure can also occur following a slow degradation of kidney function due to an underlying untreated illness; the symptoms of the latter can then become much more severe due to the lack of efficient compensation by the kidney.
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Some of the signs of chronic liver disease detectable on clinical examination are associated with decompensation.
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== Psychology ==
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In psychology, the term refers to an individual's loss of healthy defense mechanisms in response to stress, resulting in personality disturbance or psychological imbalance.
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== References ==
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== External links ==
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Heffner, C.L. (2001). Psychology 101. Archived 3 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine
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Tucker-Ladd, C.E. (1996–2000). Psychological Self-Help. |