Is the septic response good or bad?

A careful balance between the inflammatory and anti-inflammatory response is vital in order to survive the daily invasion of pathogens. Sepsis has always been regarded as the result of an exacerbated detrimental inflammatory response towards invading bacteria. However, recent insights have forced us to rethink this sepsis paradigm. This review discusses the latest trends and developments in the sepsis field and helps to set the stage for the current debate on whether the sepsis response is good or bad.