Although the hunt for predictive biomarkers for ARDS development and outcome is still under way, existing studies suggest the promise of using plasma biomarkers—e.g., interleukin-8 (IL-8), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), surfactant protein-D (SPD), and mitochondrial DNA—to improve prediction of outcomes beyond clinical classification algorithms (e.g., Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation scoring systems)5,6. Here, SFTPD is linked to acute respiratory distress syndrome.