Although we did not see a significant correlation between plasma IL-1R2 levels and mortality in the early stages of ARDS (≤6 days post onset), we did observe that mean plasma IL-1R2 levels obtained later in the course of ARDS (between days 7–14 post onset) were significantly higher in non-survivors as compared to survivors, which supports an association between persistently high plasma IL-1R2 levels and increased mortality. The gene discussed is IL1R2; the disease is acute respiratory distress syndrome.