TNF and Sepsis: Hence, the primary aim of the present study, conducted in adults admitted to the hospital with sepsis, was to evaluate the impact on in-hospital mortality (and 90-day mortality) of three polymorphisms (the TNF-α-308 promoter polymorphism, the polymorphism in the first intron of the TNF-β gene, and the IL-10-1082 promoter polymorphism), after controlling for various confounding variables including delayed adequate antibiotic therapy.