Patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) have significantly increased mortality rates. Frequently, clinicians are called upon to help families make decisions regarding aggressiveness of care. Having a realistic expectation of outcome is critical for these discussions. This article looked at survival and outcomes following initiation of vasopressors.

All patients admitted to the ICU between January and June 2011were included. Patients were classified into those who had been started on vasopressors (VP+) and those who had not (VP–). Outcomes of these groups including survival were calculated and compared.

A total of 1023 patients were included: 169 in the VP+ group and 854 in the VP– group. The survival rate in the VP+ group was 29.6% compared to 92.0% in the VP– group. This was both clinically and statistically significant (P < .001).

Patients started on vasopressors in the ICU have very poor outcomes. Being able to quantify this accurately is important to clinicians having discussions with family members.