Angiotensin II for the treatment of vasodilatory shock: enough data to consider angiotensin II safe?

Excerpt

A recent structured review by Busse et al. confirmed the efficacy of angiotensin II in terms of increasing blood pressure in patients with different types of shock [1]. The majority of data for this analysis came from the recently published ATHOS-3 trial which showed that angiotensin II effectively increased blood pressure in patients with vasodilatory shock receiving high-dose vasopressors [2]. In this trial, safety was defined as the secondary outcome. Considering the similar total number of adverse events in both groups, the administration of angiotensin II seemed safe. Antonucci et al. had already raised some caution about the administration of angiotensin II [3]. In addition, we want to add some further comments about the use of angiotensin II, especially as it has recently been approved by the US Food and Drug administration. …