The traditional approach to treatment of posttraumatic hypotension generally follows the principle of aggressive fluid resuscitation espoused by the American College of Surgeons in its Advanced Trauma Life Support course. A number of reports published in the last decade however, have questioned the safety and clinical appropriateness of this traditional approach, with recent data demonstrating support for delayed or limited resuscitation. This review discusses the controversies and presents recommendations for the ideal resuscitation strategy for the Filipino trauma patient with hypotension. (Author)