Patient population
sepsis, hypertension, cardiac arrest
ADRENAL INSUFFICIENCY, SEPSIS, HYPERTENSION, CARDIAC ARREST
Patients presenting to the ED with suspected sepsis who were 18 years or older and then needed an induction agent for emergency intubation in the ED were eligible for inclusion. Exclusion criteria were as follows: (1) cardiac arrest before intubation, (2) presence of a do-not-resuscitate order, (3) known or suspected adrenal insufficiency, (4) severe hypertension (blood pressure before randomization: over 180/110 mmHg), and (5) suspected or evidenced increased intracranial pressure. There were no exclusions after application of the randomization criteria in the trial.