Arginine vasopressin vs. terlipressin in the treatment of shock states.

The synthetic vasopressin analogue, terlipressin, is being increasingly used to treat catecholamine-resistant hypotension in septic shock and other conditions. While terlipressin holds some theoretical and anecdotal advantages over vasopressin, this has not been formally tested in prospective randomised trials. This review analyses the published literature and makes comparisons, where possible, between vasopressin and terlipressin.