Abstract: The invention concerns a method of in vitro or ex vivo evaluation of the risk of complications in a patient who has sustained an insult or an infection generating a systemic inflammatory response syndrome, the method being characterized in that it comprises the step of detecting, in a biological sample obtained from said patient, at least one transcript of the IL7R gene, as well as measuring, in vitro or ex vivo, the quantity of at least one transcript of the IL7R gene, in a biological sample from a patient who has sustained an insult or an infection generating a systemic inflammatory response syndrome, in order to evaluate the risk of complications, and in particular of mortality, in said patient. The invention also concerns kits for measuring, in vitro or ex vivo, the quantity of at least one transcript of the IL7R gene in a biological sample.