Thiamine deficiency can manifest in several ways, but the syndrome of wet beriberi, caused by thiamine deficiency, includes lactic acidosis, cardiac decompensation and vasodilatory shock, similar to sepsis and other forms of critical illness. The mechanism by which thiamine deficiency causes dysfunction rests upon the vitamin's essential role in the Krebs cycle and Pentose Phosphate Pathway. Lack of adequate thiamine results in the failure of pyruvate to enter the Krebs Cycle, thus preventing aerobic metabolism. The resulting decrease in aerobic metabolism and increase in anaerobic metabolism leads to decreased oxygen consumption by the tissues and increased lactic acid production. The investigators group has found previously that upwards of 20% of critically ill patients with sepsis are thiamine deficient within 72 hours of presentation. In a dog model of septic shock, Lindenbaum et al have shown that, regardless of thiamine levels, supplementation with thiamine improved not only lactate clearance and mean arterial pressure, but increased VO2 as well. The effect of thiamine on VO2 in critically ill humans has not yet been reported, but an increase in VO2 max after administration of thiamine to healthy volunteers has been described. VO2 is known to rise in inflammatory states, reflecting increased energy expenditure. Prior studies have shown that VO2 will decrease with interventions such as fever control. In spite of VO2 being higher than normal in critically-ill patients, however, the end-organ damage and lactic acidosis suggest that it is not high enough to meet the metabolic demands of the critically-ill body. If the investigators were able to increase VO2 further in critically-ill patients, the investigators could potentially help maintain aerobic metabolism and decrease tissue hypoxia and the resulting end-organ damage. The investigators hypothesis is that administering thiamine intravenously to critically-ill patients will increase VO2.