Controversies of surviving sepsis campaign bundles: should we use them?

Sepsis accounts for a huge number of deaths in intensive care units all over the world. In 2002, Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) was launched, targeting a mortality reduction of 25% in 5 years. Treatment guidelines were developed, published in 2004 and revised in 2007. An educational program was initiated based on bundles in which 11 of those guidelines were put together to facilitate their assimilation and use. More than 10,000 patients have been enrolled worldwide. However, the SSC and its bundles have been harshly criticized both because of an industry funding and by the presumed fragility of the studies from where they were based. In this review, the main arguments of the SSC critics are discussed and refuted, and the main controversial issues of the resuscitation and management bundles are analyzed, taking into account the new evidence in the literature.