A randomised, controlled trial of the pulmonary artery catheter in critically ill patients.

Objective: To compare the survival and clinical outcomes of critically ill patients treated with the use of a pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) to those treated without the use of a PAC.

Design: Prospective, randomised, controlled, clinical trial from October 1997 to February 1999.

Setting: Adult intensive care unit at a large teaching hospital.