Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | Permissive hypotension (n=) | Usual care (n=) |
| Demographics | ||
| Age, years, mean (SD) | ||
| Female sex, n (%) | ||
| Weight, kg; mean (SD) | ||
| Clinical Frailty Scale* >4, n (%) | ||
| APACHE II†, mean (SD) | ||
| SOFA‡, mean (SD) | ||
| Comorbidities | ||
| Cardiac | ||
| Supraventricular arrhythmia, n (%) | ||
| Ventricular arrhythmia, n (%) | ||
| Coronary artery disease§, n (%) | ||
| Congestive Heart Failure, class 1–3, n (%) | ||
| Congestive Heart Failure, class 4, n (%) | ||
| Left ventricular ejection fraction, % (mean, SD) | ||
| Vascular, n (%) | ||
| Known hypertension | ||
| Peripheral vascular disease or claudication | ||
| Cerebrovascular disease | ||
| Diabetes (type 1 or 2), n (%) | ||
| Renal, n (%) | ||
| Receiving chronic dialysis | ||
| Baseline creatinine¶, μmol/L, mean (SD) | ||
| Child’s B or C cirrhosis, n (%) | ||
| Chronic lung disease, n (%) | ||
| Immunosuppression, n (%) | ||
| Cognitive impairment or dementia, n (%) | ||
| ICU admission data | ||
| Primary ICU diagnosis, n (%) | ||
| Medical | ||
| Surgical | ||
| Transfer from another hospital, n (%) | ||
| Time from hospital admission to randomisation, hours; mean (SD) | ||
| Time from ICU admission to randomisation, hours; mean (SD) | ||
| Vasopressor dose, mean norepinephrine equivalents (mean µg/kg/min (SD)) | ||
| Vasopressors, n (%) | ||
| Norepinephrine | ||
| Epinephrine | ||
| Dopamine | ||
| Phenylephrine | ||
| Vasopressin | ||
| Inotropes, n (%) | ||
| Dobutamine | ||
| Milrinone | ||
| Mean arterial pressure, mm Hg; mean (SD) | ||
*The Clinical Frailty Scale52 ranges from 1 to 7, with scores of 5–7 denoting frailty.
†Scores on the APACHE II51 range from 0 to 71, with higher scores indicating more severe disease and a higher risk of death.
‡Scores on the SOFA23 range from 0 to 24, with higher scores indicating more severe disease and a higher risk of death.
§Coronary artery disease included angina and previous MI, PCI or CABG.
¶Baseline creatinine was determined from the outpatient creatinine within the last 12 months and closest to admission (n=) or, if not available, then the lowest inpatient creatinine before ICU admission (n=).
APACHE II, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II; CABG, coronary artery bypass grafting; ICU, intensive care unit; MI, myocardial infarction; PCI, percutaneous coronary intervention; SOFA, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment.