TNF and infection: Interestingly, the IL-1β levels were more elevated in the BAL samples compared to the AC samples (* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, one-way ANOVA, Table 4), while the opposite was observed regarding the TNF-α levels, which were higher in the AC samples compared to the BAL samples (* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, one-way ANOVA, Table 4) regardless of the type of infection, MDR or non-MDR, in the VAP patients.