Pioneering studies4 showed that critically-ill patients presented higher levels of inflammatory markers than patients with low to moderate illness, while dead patients had higher degrees of lymphopenia, neutrophilia, C-reactive protein (CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), d-dimer and IL-6 production5; all of these markers corresponding to a strong T-helper type 1 (Th1) immune response. This evidence concerns the gene CRP and lymphopenia.