Moreover, the fact that patients with shock had lower BAL fluid-to-serum concentrations ratios of the main pro/anti-inflammatory cytokines (i.e., IL1-Ra, IL-6, IP-10/CXCL10 and IL-10) suggests that less lung-compartmentalization of these mediators might be a mechanism leading to extra-pulmonary organ failures complicating the course of ARDS, as previously hypothesized [40, 41]. Here, CXCL10 is linked to acute respiratory distress syndrome.