IL6 and acute respiratory distress syndrome: In acute infection cases, the overproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines, known as “cytokine storm”, driven by IL-6, CXCL10 and infiltrating macrophages 17-20, results in the suppression/deregulation of the immune response by T cells and in lymphopenia 21,22, as well as the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which may lead to organ dysfunction, and death 23-25.