Septic Shock: Norepinephrine Alone — Or with Vasopressin?

In a multinational, double-blind trial, adding vasopressin to norepinephrine did not reduce 28-day mortality rates.

Despite the use of multiple treatment modalities, the mortality rate among patients with septic shock remains unacceptably high. In addition to fluid resuscitation, various pressor agents have been employed to increase mean arterial blood pressure. Does adjunctive low-dose vasopressin offer a survival advantage?

To find out, researchers compared low-dose vasopressin plus norepinephrine with norepinephrine alone in a multinational, randomized, double-blind trial. The primary outcome measure was 28-day mortality; adverse events were also evaluated. Participants were 778 adult patients with septic shock.

The mean time from meeting inclusion criteria to study-drug infusion was 11.9 hours for the group receiving norepinephrine plus vasopressin and…

Reviewing Author

Larry M. Baddour, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesUpToDate, Inc. (Authorship duties)

Larry M. Baddour, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesUpToDate, Inc. (Authorship duties)