Organ Failure - Signs and Symptoms

Organ Failure: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment Options

The organ of the soul is the human voice. This proverb tries to show that whatever your mind thinks can be told by talking through the mouth. You can express your thoughts through your voice; thus, it acts as the organ for your soul. The organ is also highlighted in this proverb.

What is Organ Failure?

Organ failure refers to a condition in which one or many organs fail to perform their job properly for the needs of the body. Organ failure can occur suddenly or gradually. If any of the important organs malfunction or fail to function, then you will require life support or an organ transplant to replace that organ. The liver, kidneys, heart, brain, lungs, and small intestine are your most important organs. 

The human body has many internal organs, which also includes those that are part of the respiratory, circulatory, digestive, and nervous systems. The brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver are the five vital organs of human body. Most of them might know the internal organs and their functions.

Signs of Organ Failure

You can see a few signs of organ failure. The signs of organ failure are:

• A yellow-coloured tint on your skin and eyes (jaundice due to liver failure).
• A blue-coloured tint on your lips and under your fingernails (cyanosis because of heart failure or respiratory failure). 

Symptoms of Organ Failure: A Guide by Specific Organ

Organ failure is a critical condition where a vital organ ceases to function properly. Recognizing the symptoms is crucial for seeking timely medical intervention. Here’s a breakdown of symptoms by specific organ.

Heart Failure Symptoms

Heart failure occurs when the heart can't pump blood effectively. This inefficiency causes fluid to back up into the lungs and extremities. Key symptoms include:

• Shortness of breath (dyspnea): This occurs at rest or when lying down because fluid accumulates in the lungs (pulmonary edema), making it difficult to breathe.
• Persistent coughing or wheezing: A result of this fluid buildup in the airways.
• Fluid retention and swelling: Known as edema, this causes noticeable swelling in the legs, ankles, and feet as blood backs up in the veins.
• Sudden weight gain and increased urination at night: The retained fluid leads to rapid weight gain. At night, when the body is reclined, the kidneys can process this excess fluid more easily, leading to nocturia.
   

Liver Failure Symptoms

Liver failure involves the deterioration of the liver's many functions, leading to a cascade of issues beyond jaundice (yellowing skin).

• Abdominal pain and swelling (ascites): The failing liver produces less albumin, causing fluid to leak into the abdominal cavity.
• Severe itching (pruritus) and pale stool/dark urine: Bile products build up in the bloodstream, depositing in the skin and causing intense itching. Their absence in stool and presence in urine changes its color.
• Bruising and bleeding: The liver fails to produce adequate proteins necessary for blood clotting.
• Mental confusion (hepatic encephalopathy): Toxins that the liver should remove, like ammonia, travel to the brain, causing personality changes and confusion.
   

Kidney Failure Symptoms

When the kidneys fail, waste products and excess fluid build up, causing many of these symptoms.

• Reduced urine output and swelling: The kidneys cannot remove fluid, leading to edema and decreased urination.
• Unexplained shortness of breath: Fluid can accumulate in the lungs (pulmonary edema) because the body cannot excrete it.
• Persistent nausea and chest pain: Caused by the buildup of uremic toxins in the blood.
• Seizures: Severe electrolyte imbalances and toxin accumulation can affect brain function.
   

Respiratory (Lung) Failure Symptoms

This is characterized by an inability to properly oxygenate blood or remove carbon dioxide.

• Air hunger and rapid breathing: The body’s desperate attempt to get more oxygen.
• Bluish lips/skin (cyanosis): A direct sign of critically low oxygen levels in the blood.
• Confusion and tiredness: The brain is starved of oxygen.
• In hypoxemic failure, oxygen levels are low. In hypercapnic failure, carbon dioxide levels are dangerously high, often causing drowsiness and headaches.
   

Brain Failure (Neurological) Symptoms

Brain failure, from events like stroke or trauma, disrupts core neurological functions.

• Confusion and loss of consciousness: This indicates impaired overall brain activity.
• Seizures and memory loss: Resulting from sudden or progressive damage to nerve cells.
• Severe headaches, loss of coordination, and vision/speech changes: These are often focal signs, pointing to damage in specific regions of the brain responsible for these functions.
   

Recognizing these symptoms can be life-saving. If you or someone you know experiences a cluster of these signs, seek immediate medical attention.

Also Read: Disease X Symptoms

Causes of Organ Failure

There are many reasons why organ failure occurs. Here are some of the causes of organ failure:

1) Long-Time Diseases

Chronic diseases can cause damage to your organs over a period of time. If you have had a disease for a long time, it may not go away easily, though there might be many ways to slow down the destruction it causes. A few diseases might occur during your birth itself, and others might happen in the later part of your life.

• Chronic inflammatory bowel diseases like chronic intestinal motility disorders and Crohn’s disease can lead to chronic intestinal failure.
• Chronic heart diseases, like coronary artery disease and congenital heart disease, could result in heart failure.
• Chronic respiratory diseases like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) could result in chronic respiratory failure.
• Chronic degenerative brain diseases, like Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, could lead to chronic brain failure (dementia). 
• Chronic liver diseases, like fatty liver disease and hepatitis C, are the most common causes of chronic liver failure.
• Chronic kidney diseases, like glomerulonephritis and polycystic kidney disease, can result in chronic kidney failure.

2) Injury

A serious injury to one of your organs might result in acute organ failure. injury, there might be a chance of chronic organ failure due to the permanent damage, even though your organ recovers. It might make your organ not perform its work well. A shock state might be triggered by a severe injury that affects your whole body. This will stop the flow of blood to all your organs. This can result in acute multiple-organ failure. 

Moreover, the surgical removal of a large part of your small intestine (short bowel syndrome) due to a disease is a general reason for permanent small intestinal failure. Traumatic brain injury can cause brain death (acute brain failure). 

3) Toxic Infections

Toxin-induced organ injuries can be both acute and chronic; they affect any or all of your important organs. Environmental substances, bacterial infections in your body, or the substances you take can cause toxic poisoning. If your liver and kidneys fail, then the toxins might develop and injure your other organs. This is because the liver and kidneys only help filter the low levels of toxins in your blood each day.

Bacterial infections generate toxins as byproducts, which might impact individual organs or all if they go into your blood. These bacterial infections in your bloodstream can result in sepsis and shock. 

Several issues, like chronic liver failure (toxic hepatitis), chronic brain failure (alcohol-related brain damage), chronic heart failure (alcohol-induced cardiomyopathy), or chronic intestinal and kidney diseases, can be caused by chronic drug or alcohol use. An overdose of substances or acute alcohol poisoning could result in acute heart failure, acute liver failure, or acute kidney injury.

Environmental toxins could result in health issues like chronic respiratory failure, kidney disease, liver disease, or degenerative brain diseases.

4) Loss of Blood

The blood flow helps retain oxygen for your organs. If anything can stop the blood flow to your organ, then it will not have the oxygen required for its function (hypoxia). This can result in acute or chronic organ failure, depending on how the blood supply is stopped.

Ischemia is a condition of loss of blood supply to a particular organ. This could be a severe, slow, or gradual loss. Then, shock is a sudden loss of blood flow throughout your body. 

Chronic heart failure is generally caused by ischemic cardiomyopathy. Any organ with ischemia could face inflammation and then tissue death, either quickly or slowly. An ischemic stroke in the brain could result in acute brain damage and brain death in a few cases.

Shock refers to an acute loss of blood flow. It is caused by any of the following issues: heart damage (cardiogenic shock), bloodstream infection (septic shock), cardiac obstruction (obstructive shock), and an allergic reaction (anaphylactic shock). This could lead to acute multiple-organ failure.

5) Loss of Oxygen

A major cardiac event, like a heart attack, stroke, or cardiac arrest, could cut off his or her blood and oxygen supply to the remaining organs. It could cause complications such as acute heart failure, brain damage, or multiple organ failure. The remaining organs will also die if your heart or brain stem dies.

Different Types of Organ Failure

A human body has different types of organs:

1. Heart

The heart is responsible for providing oxygen-rich blood to all the other organs in your body. So, the heart failure will affect the whole body. Acute heart failure is a fast decrease in heart function, while congestive heart failure grows over time. 

2. Liver

The liver does necessary functions to support life, like filtering toxins from your blood. The failure of the liver could be acute or chronic.

3. Kidneys

Kidneys help remove waste from your blood, thus balancing your fluids and electrolytes. Kidney failure might be chronic or acute.

4. Lungs

The major part of the respiratory system is the lungs. It supplies oxygen to all the tissues in your body. Respiratory failure can either be short-term or long-term.

5. Small Intestine

The small intestine is the necessary organ to absorb more nutrition from your food, thus helping your body to operate. If your small intestine fails to work, then the result is either malnutrition or starvation. 

6. Brain

Your brain instructs all of your organs how to function. Degenerative brain diseases can lead to chronic and progressive brain failure. Acute brain failure is brain death, so when your brain or brainstem dies, the remaining organs will also become inactive. 

Different conditions might result in any or several organ failures at once. When there is more than one organ failure, then it might be called:

• Total organ failure.
• Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.
• Multiple organ failure.

The Domino Effect: Understanding Multiple Organ Failure

What is Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndrome (MODS)?

• MODS is the progressive failure of two or more organ systems.
• It's not a disease itself, but a severe complication of another illness or injury.
• The process is a "domino effect":
  • Failure in one organ creates stress and damage in others.
  • This triggers a cascade of collapse throughout the body.

Causes of MODS: The Triggers

1. Sepsis (The #1 Cause)
   
   
   • A localized infection spreads to the bloodstream.
   • This triggers a catastrophic, body-wide inflammatory response called a "cytokine storm."
   • The immune system overreacts, damaging its own tissues and blood vessels.
   • Results in clots, fluid leakage, and organ failure due to lack of oxygen.
      
2. Other Major Causes
   
   
   • Severe Trauma & Burns: Cause massive tissue death, sparking a similar inflammatory chain reaction.
   • Acute Pancreatitis: Digestive enzymes activate inside the pancreas, causing it to "digest itself" and release toxins.
   • Toxic Shock Syndrome: A violent, systemic reaction to potent bacterial toxins.

The Progression of MODS: The Four Stages

Stage 1: The Initial Insult

• The body suffers a major injury or infection.
• Organs are stressed but still functioning and compensating.
• The patient is critically ill, but organ failure has not begun.
   

Stage 2: The First Organ Fails

• The body's inflammatory response becomes overwhelming.
• The first "domino" falls—one organ system begins to fail (often lungs or kidneys).
• The body releases high levels of inflammatory chemicals that attack other organs.
   

Stage 3: Multiple Organ Failure

• The cascade is fully unleashed.
• Two or more organ systems are now deteriorating.
• Symptoms are severe and apparent (e.g., respiratory failure, kidney shutdown, confusion).
• This is a critical juncture requiring intensive life support.
   

Stage 4: Irreversible Damage

• Three or more organ systems have failed.
• The damage is widespread and cannot be reversed.
• The body's compensatory mechanisms are completely exhausted.
• This stage has a tragically high mortality rate.

Diagnosis of Organ Failure

The doctor might use different tests to diagnose organ failure in various organs.

The diagnosis of organ failure might include the following :

Liver function tests and kidney function tests help calculate the chemicals in your blood and urine that provide the doctor with details about the organs' functioning. They may also continue with a renal scan or liver stiffness scan (elastography).

You might be asked to undergo blood tests for malnutrition causes and then an enteroscopy for your small intestine. This enteroscopy could help diagnose small intestinal failure caused by malabsorption or pseudo-obstruction.

An echocardiogram is the test used to measure your heart’s ejection fraction, which helps in finding out how well it’s functioning.

Neurocognitive testing and brain scans could diagnose any damage to the brain.

A pulmonary function test will help check the workings of your respiratory system. A pulse oximetry (pulse ox) or arterial blood gas test could also calculate your blood oxygen levels.

Some imaging tests of the organs, like an ultrasound imaging or CT scan, can help detect the issue.

Also Read: Gingivitis Symptoms

Organ Failure Treatment

For acute organ failure, your doctor will give you help to control your condition. These might include:

• IV fluids
• Blood transfusion
• IV nutrition
• Antibiotics
• Oxygen therapy or mechanical ventilation.
• Vasopressor medications to increase blood flow
• Dialysis
• In a rare case, an organ transplant can cure acute organ failure

For chronic organ failure, your doctor will suggest many methods. They may include :

• Some diets and lifestyles change to slow or reverse the path of chronic liver failure. If the condition reaches the end stage, then it might require a liver transplant.
• Dialysis helps slow down the development of chronic kidney failure. Again, if it is in the end stage, then it necessitates a kidney transplant.
• Your doctor might recommend different breathing methods for chronic respiratory failure, as they will help you provide more oxygen. But, at the final stage, you require a lung transplant or permanent mechanical ventilation.
• Some medications treat chronic heart failure and its causes, like coronary artery disease. But in the final stages, heart failure surgery options use different implanted devices to make your heart function, and then, finally, you need a heart transplant.
• Your doctor might prefer parenteral nutrition for the chronic intestinal failure condition. You can follow parenteral nutrition for life, but it might result in complications. You might also need an intestinal transplant.
• Some medications are needed to treat the symptoms that support dementia. But, currently, there is no treatment to slow down or reverse its progress. But there is no treatment for brain death.

Risk Factors & Prevention of Organ Failure

Who is Most at Risk?

• The Elderly: Age-related decline in organ function increases vulnerability.
• Chronic Condition Patients: Especially those with diabetes, hypertension, HIV, or heart disease.
• Immunocompromised Individuals: Including those with autoimmune diseases, transplant recipients, or patients on chemotherapy.
• People with Substance Abuse History: Chronic alcohol or illicit drug use directly damages organs like the liver and kidneys.
   

Actionable Prevention Tips

• Manage Chronic Diseases: Strictly follow treatment plans for conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure.
• Stay Updated on Vaccinations: Prevent serious infections (like flu, pneumonia) that can lead to sepsis and organ failure.
• Avoid Toxins: Limit alcohol intake and avoid illicit drugs to prevent direct organ damage.
• Use Protective Gear: Wear seatbelts and helmets to prevent traumatic injury, a common cause of organ shock.
• Seek Prompt Medical Care: Do not ignore signs of serious infection (e.g., high fever, confusion, severe pain) to prevent sepsis.

Facing the Reality: Prognosis and Recovery After Organ Failure

Organ failures can be scary. When multiple organs fail (MODS), the situation is very critical. The mortality rate is high and the chances become tougher with each organ that fails.

But here's the crucial part we hold onto: people do survive. Recovery is possible, especially for those who were stronger before this happened. Surviving, however, is often just the first step on a long and difficult road back.

The Long Road to Recovery

If someone makes it through the initial crisis, their body has been through a war. The journey to regain a sense of normalcy is measured in months, sometimes years.

• The Need for Rehab: It's very common to move from the ICU to a rehabilitation center. This isn't a sign of failure; it's a necessary stage of healing.
• Rebuilding Your Body: You might need physical therapy to rebuild muscle and simply learn to walk again after being bedridden for so long. It can be frustratingly slow and exhausting.
• Relearning Everyday Life: Occupational therapists help with the basics—things like getting dressed, making a meal, or taking a shower. These tasks we take for granted become major goals.
• The Invisible Scars: The trauma isn't just physical. Many survivors deal with "ICU delirium," memory fog, anxiety, or depression. Getting help for your mental health is just as important as healing your body.
• Ongoing Management: You'll likely have a list of new doctors to see and medications to manage. Your recovering organs, especially the kidneys or heart, may need lifelong support and monitoring.

Facts on Organ Failure Symptoms

• Internal organs could face failure because of different factors, like chronic diseases, injuries, a lack of enough blood supply or oxygen, and infections. 
• Multiple organ failure symptoms depend on the affected organs, but those symptoms usually include weakness, altered mental status, fatigue, and dysfunction signs in multiple organ systems.   
• The types of organs that easily fail are the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and brain. This is because they are needed for vital functions such as oxygen delivery, detoxification, waste removal, and overall bodily control. 
• Multiple organ failure causes include sepsis or septic shock, traumatic injury, pancreatitis, massive heart attack, liver failure, toxic injury and poisoning. 
• Internal organs and their functions depend on the coordinated activity of different organ systems, basically regulated by the nervous and endocrine systems, which make sure that there is proper communication and homeostasis within the human body. 
• The five vital organs of human body essential for human survival are the brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver. 

Conclusion

Organ failure is a sudden or gradual condition that causes one or more organs to stop working. It can be caused by many factors, like chronic diseases, injuries, toxic infections, etc. Weakness, drowsiness, confusion, loss of appetite, nausea, irregular heartbeat, etc., are some of the symptoms of organ failure.

A yellow colour tint on your skin and a blue colour tint on your lips might show that you have organ failure. For each organ failure, various tests might be conducted to diagnose the underlying cause. Depending on the type of acute or chronic organ failure, the treatment might differ.

We fall ill with health and its failure as we live in a polluted area. You may wonder malfunction of which organ causes diabetes. The answer is the pancreas. You may wonder, “What is multiple organ failure?” Multiple organ failure needs immediate medical intervention. Organ failure refers to the failure of one or several of your organs to do their job for your body's needs. The multiple organ failure causes include infections, injuries, and chronic diseases.