IL6ST and infection: However, during the second wave of infection, it is reasonable to assume that better and faster treatments with corticosteroids may have played a protective role in patients admitted to ICU, indicating a lower increase of IL-6 (265.51 ± 976.82 pg/mL) and sIL-6R (39.71 ± 17.87 ng/mL), despite a decrease in sgp130 levels (181.52 ± 67.29 ng/mL), with respect to the levels observed in the first COVID wave.