Baseline arterial levels of sRAGE, esRAGE S100A12 and AGEs are correlated with lung injury severity as assessed by PaO2/FiO2 ratio; baseline sRAGE, HMGB1 and S100A12 may also help to better discriminate nonfocal from focal ARDS, as assessed by CT-scan. Here, HMGB1 is linked to acute respiratory distress syndrome.