ObjectiveTo systematically review the efficacy of pulse indicating continuous cardiac output (PICCO) monitoring for guiding the treatment of patients with septic shock.MethodsDatabases including PubMed, The Cochrane Library, EMbase, Web of Science, CBM, WanFang Data, VIP and CNKI were electronically searched from inception to February 2017 to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about PICCO monitoring on treatment guidance of patients with septic shock. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Then meta-analysis was performed using Stata 12.0 software.ResultsA total of 20 RCTs involving 1 253 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed: compared with central venous pressure (CVP) measurements, the treatment of sepsis bundles informed by PICCO could significantly shorten the length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay (MD=–2.74, 95%CI –3.40 to –2.09, P<0.001), reduce the ICU mortality (RR=0.49, 95%CI 0.36 to 0.67, P<0.001) and 28-day mortality (RR=0.61, 95%CI 0.43 to 0.87, P=0.006).ConclusionCurrent evidence shows the PICCO monitoring can significantly improve the prognosis of septic shock. Due to limited and quantity quality of the included studies, more high-quality studies are needed to verify above conclusion.