Menk M, et al. - The predictive value of nucleated red blood cells (NRBCs) on mortality in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) was assessed in this study conducted at an ARDS referral center including patients from 2007 to 2014. NRBCs was shown to be related to a longer length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay and higher mortality rates. Moreover, a cutoff level of 220 NRBC/µl was noted to be associated with a more than tripled risk of ICU death. Overall, mortality in ARDS could be predicted by NRBCs with high prognostic power and its presence in the blood might serve as a marker of disease severity suggesting a higher risk of ICU death.