Table 2.
Characteristics during the first 12 h after the start of the vasopressor infusion a
| At the start of infusion | 6 h after the start of the infusion | 12 h after the start of the infusion | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angiotensin II (n = 65) | Control (n = 67) | p | Angiotensin II (n = 65) | Control (n = 67) | p | Angiotensin II (n = 65) | Control (n = 67) | p | |
| Angiotensin II as a first line agent—no. (%) | 29 (44.6) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Use as a vasopressor | 45 (69.2) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Other reason | 20 (30.8) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| VTE prophylaxis at start of infusion—no. (%) | 65 (100.0) | 67 (100.0) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Ventilatory support at start of infusion—no. (%) | 0.999 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Noninvasive ventilation | 0 (0.0) | 1/66 (1.5) | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Invasive ventilation | 65 (100.0) | 65/66 (98.5) | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Support at start of infusion | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| Norepinephrine dose, µg/kg/min | 0.16 (0.09–0.23) | 0.15 (0.10–0.20) | 0.626 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Use of renal replacement therapy—no. (%) | 5/64 (7.8) | 1/62 (1.6) | 0.208 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Use of ECMO—no. (%) | 3 (4.6) | 3/62 (4.8) | 0.999 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Use of prone positioning—no. (%) | 29/63 (46.0) | 23/62 (37.1) | 0.366 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Infusion details | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| Dose (ng/kg/min or µg/kg/min)b | 5 (5–20) | 0.08 (0.00–0.15) | – | 20 (0–32) | 0.11 (0.10–0.20) | – | 14 (0–32) | 0.15 (0.04–0.25) | – |
| PEEP, cmH2O | 12 (10–14) | 12 (10–14) | 0.778 | 11 (10–12) | 12 (10–13) | 0.907 | 10 (10–12) | 12 (9–14) | 0.411 |
| FiO2 * | 0.70 (0.52–0.85) | 0.70 (0.60–0.97) | 0.418 | 0.50 (0.48–0.62) | 0.70 (0.50–0.85) | 0.146 | 0.50 (0.43–0.58) | 0.70 (0.50–0.92) | 0.014 |
| SpO2, % | 94 (91–96) | 93 (88–95) | 0.112 | 97 (95–99) | 94 (91–95) | 0.076 | 96 (95–98) | 94 (92–95) | 0.102 |
| Heart rate, bpm | 102 (81–118) | 98 (86–102) | 0.776 | 95 (77–104) | 94 (81–111) | 0.548 | 90 (75–105) | 105 (84–115) | 0.223 |
| Mean arterial pressure, mmHg | 80 (69–94) | 73 (63–89) | 0.079 | 76 (65–87) | 79 (69–86) | 0.934 | 79 (72–81) | 70 (69–87) | 0.857 |
| Respiratory rate, breaths/min | 22 (16–28) | 24 (17–25) | 0.818 | 22 (17–26) | 22 (20–25) | 0.750 | 22 (18–26) | 22 (21–25) | 0.720 |
| pH | 7.36 (7.31–7.44) | 7.36 (7.30–7.41) | 0.461 | 7.34 (7.27–7.38) | 7.37 (7.33–7.38) | 0.203 | 7.34 (7.31–7.36) | 7.37 (7.32–7.42) | 0.230 |
| PaO2/FiO2 ** | 114 (85–153) | 104 (77–131) | 0.350 | 175 (118–204) | 129 (89–165) | 0.023 | 170 (143–203) | 123 (75–149) | 0.030 |
| PaCO2, mmHg | 48 (39–53) | 45 (40–54) | 0.385 | 47 (38–61) | 42 (38–49) | 0.315 | 46 (40–54) | 42 (40–53) | 0.551 |
| Lactate, mmol/L | 1.7 (1.4–2.2) | 1.9 (1.2–2.5) | 0.800 | 1.6 (1.2–2.3) | 1.8 (1.2–2.4) | 0.567 | 1.4 (1.2–2.1) | 1.5 (1.3–2.1) | 0.668 |
| Creatinine, mg/dl | 1.21 (0.92–1.83) | 1.01 (0.77–1.52) | 0.036 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| C‐reactive protein, mg/dl | 176 (31–247) | 151 (42–74) | 0.710 | ||||||
Note: Data are median (Quartile 25th–75th) and N/total (%).
Abbreviations: ECMO, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; ICU, intensive care unit; PEEP, positive end‐expiratory pressure; VTE, venous thromboembolism.
Models comparing characteristics over time are mixed‐effect models considering the moment of measurement, group, as well as the group × time interaction as a fixed effect. Moment of measurement was treated as a categorical variable and random intercepts for patients were included to account for the dependency of repeated measures. Between‐group comparisons at each time point were estimated with the appropriate contrasts from the model and using a Holm–Bonferroni method to adjust for multiplicity.
In the angiotensin group, the dose of angiotensin II is reported as ng/kg/min and in the control group, the noradrenaline dose is reported as µg/kg/min.
p values after adjustment for PEEP and prone positioning: 0.321 (start of infusion), 0.135 (6 h), and 0.015 (12 h)
p values after adjustment for PEEP and prone positioning: 0.343 (start of infusion), 0.026 (6 h), and 0.035 (12 h).