We provided recommendations for the appropriate choice of fluid therapy for resuscitation of critically ill patients.

A consensus committee of 24 experts from the French Society of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine (Société française d’anesthésie et de réanimation, SFAR) and the French Society of Emergency Medicine (Société française de médecine d’urgence, SFMU) was convened.

A formal conflict-of-interest policy was developed at the onset of the process and enforced throughout. The entire guideline elaboration process was conducted independently of any industry funding.

The authors were advised to follow the principles of the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system to guide their assessment of quality of evidence.

The potential drawbacks of making strong recommendations in the presence of low-quality evidence were emphasised. Some recommendations were left ungraded.