Norepinephrine or dopamine for septic shock: systematic review of randomized clinical trials.

Received July 30, 2010, and in revised form September 14, 2010. Accepted for publication September 20, 2010. Background: There is debate as to the vasopressor agent of choice in patients with septic shock. According to current guidelines either dopamine or norepinephrine may be considered as the first-line agent for the management of refractory hypotension of septic shock. Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate randomized clinical trials which compared norepinephrine versus dopamine in critically ill patients with septic shock or in a population of critically ill patients with shock predominantly secondary to sepsis. Data Sources: MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials and citation review of relevant primary and review articles. Study Selection: Randomized clinical trials that compared norepinephrine with dopamine in critically ill adults with sepsis and reported the 28-day or in-hospital mortality. Data Extraction: We abstracted data on study design, study s...