Around 50% of patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) develop an acquired innate immune dysfunction related to the severity of their underlying presentation. This increases the risk of secondary infection in the ICU, which drives pressures to prescribe antibiotics, which in turn encourages the emergence of antimicrobial resistance.

The talk will primarily consider potential mechanisms underlying the critical illness-induced dysfunction in neutrophils and how these suggest therapeutic targets, finishing with a description of clinical trials we are about to start, ultimately seeking to translate our work into a non-antibiotic-based strategy for reducing ICU-acquired infection.