Shandra Day

• Professor (Assistant) at The Ohio State University

Background C. difficile infection (CDI) is an ongoing challenge for healthcare facilities. The mischaracterization of C. difficile colonization as active infection falsely elevates healthcare onset-CDI (HO-CDI) rates and increases antimicrobial overuse and healthcare costs. Two-step testing for CDI helps differentiate colonization from infection. W...

Background: Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI) are preventable hospital acquired infections that contributes to patient morbidity, prolonged hospital stays and increased healthcare costs. Complete compliance to the CAUTI bundle is critical for preventing infection—not only reducing catheter days, but also ensuring appropriate indi...

Background: Whole genome sequencing (WGS) is a relatively new method for analyzing outbreaks and modes of transmission, particularly for multidrug resistant bacteria. This study sought to investigate clusters of patients with genetically related Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus spp. (VRE) bacteremia for shared hospital environmental exposures. Met...

Background: Candida auris is an emerging threat to hospitalized patients and invasive disease is associated with high mortality. This study describes clinical and microbiological characteristics of nine patients identified with C. auris at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center discovered through active surveillance or clinical investigation and uses who...

Background: Clostridioides difficile PCR is extremely sensitive but cannot differentiate colonization versus active disease. Over diagnosis of C. difficile infection (CDI) has negative consequences including overuse of antibiotics targeting C. difficile, increased hospital-acquired (HA)-CDI rates, and increased healthcare costs. We describe the imp...

A healthcare-associated group A Streptococcus outbreak involving six patients, four healthcare workers, and one household contact occurred in the labor and delivery unit of an academic medical center. Isolates were highly related by whole genome sequencing. Infection prevention measures, healthcare worker screening, and chemoprophylaxis of those co...

Background Patients undergoing revision total hip (THA) and knee (TKA) arthroplasties are at increased risk for surgical site infections (SSI) with prior infection representing a common indication for revision. Our aim was to evaluate patient characteristics and risk factors in patients with THA and TKA infection following revision arthroplasty. M...

Objective To assess the relative risk of hospital-onset Clostridioides difficile (HO-CDI) during each month of the early coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and to compare it with historical expectation based on patient characteristics. Design This study used a retrospective cohort design. We collected secondary data from the institution’...

Background: Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) are increasingly implicated in nosocomial outbreaks worldwide. We evaluated whole-genome sequencing (WGS) as an adjunctive epidemiological tool to identify infection clusters and MDRO transmission in the healthcare setting. Methods: Clinical isolates of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) fr...

Background Although Enterococcus species can colonize and cause infection in multiple body sites, it is considered a rare cause of pneumonia (PNA). The study objective was to describe clinical outcomes in immunocompromised patients with PNA and Enterococcus in respiratory cultures to better elucidate the pathogenic role played by Enterococci. Meth...

Background Success rates of prosthetic joint infections (PJI) managed by debridement, antibiotics, and implant retention (DAIR) vary according to recent literature. Our aim is to evaluate the success/failure rate of PJI managed by DAIR with respect to the microbiologic composition, antimicrobial selection, and treatment duration. Methods A single-...

Background: Transmission-based precautions against varicella-zoster virus (VZV) in healthcare settings are determined by the extent of rash (localized vs disseminated) and the immune status of the host. At our facility, immunocompetent patients with localized disease are placed in standard precautions whereas patients with disseminated disease and/...

Background: Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) are an increasing threat to patient safety but only a small percentage of CRE identified are NDMs. Since 2018, clinical CRE isolates have been submitted to the Ohio Department of Health for sequencing and NDM cases have notably increased since that time. Candida auris is an emerging pathogen w...

Background: An increase in candidemia has been observed throughout the world since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients with COVID-19 may have different risk factors, clinical presentations, and outcomes compared to patients without COVID-19. Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of all inpatients with candidemia at a large, ac...

A specific, clinical-epidemiology, month-long rotation for all infectious disease fellows as well as a 1-year subspecialty track provides education in clinical epidemiology during infectious disease fellowship training. We describe the educational process created at our institution to provide this training.

Remdesivir has been shown to shorten the time to recovery in hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Data on its use in pregnancy are limited. In this single-center retrospective cohort study, our objective was to determine whether early remdesivir use in pregnant individuals is associated with decreased risk of admission to...

Background: Prison populations have been disproportionally affected by COVID-19, partly due to challenges related to social distancing. Data on viral transmission dynamics in inpatient prison units remain limited. The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (OSUWMC) has a 24-bed inpatient prison unit in collaboration with the Ohio Department of...

Background: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center identified a cluster of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases on an inpatient geriatric stroke care unit involving both patients and staff. The period of suspected severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission and exposure on the unit was December 20, 2020, to...

Objectives: Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is the leading cause of bacteraemia and infective endocarditis worldwide. The preferred management of patients with methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) bacteraemia includes definitive therapy with intravenous anti-staphylococcal beta-lactam (ASBL) antibiotics. Daptomycin (DAP) has been targeted as...

Background Since discovery in December 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which causes the disease of COVID-19 has become a global pandemic. Little is known about which risk factors lead to more severe disease or increased mortality in patients diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2. We aimed in this study to compare clinical cha...

Background GAS can cause severe postpartum infections and may be transmitted from colonized healthcare workers (HCWs). Methods Two cases of GAS bacteremia following vaginal delivery were identified on the L&D unit June-July 2019 (Cluster 1), prompting a carrier-disseminator investigation. Two additional cases were identified September-October 2019...

The human colon is host to an array of commensal organisms that aid in digestion. The infectious colitides include a wide range of organisms that in sufficiently large colonies may be pathologic to humans. Infectious colitis may result when overwhelmingly large colonies or hypervirulent strains develop. Treatment varies from simple supportive care...

Background The preferred management of patients with MSSA bacteremia includes definitive therapy with intravenous anti-staphylococcal β-lactam antibiotics. In β-lactam allergic or intolerant patients, daptomycin has been targeted as a viable alternative. The objective of this study was to assess clinical outcomes of daptomycin compared with nafcill...

Background THA is one of the most commonly performed surgeries for pathologic diseases of the hip. Multiple risk factors have been identified for SSI including: female gender, previous joint surgery, hematoma, joint dislocation, intraarticular glucocorticoid injection, rheumatoid arthritis, uncontrolled diabetes, anemia, malnutrition, and an immuno...

Blastomycosis is a rare fungal disease that can cause intraarticular infection and joint destruction requiring surgical reconstruction. We describe a patient who presented with destruction of the knee joint of unknown etiology. The patient was initially treated with debridement and spacer placement followed by antifungal therapy after cultures grew...

Legionella pneumophila uses a single homodimeric disulfide bond (DSB) oxidoreductase DsbA2 to catalyze extracytoplasmic protein folding and to correct DSB errors through protein-disulfide isomerase (PDI) activity. In Escherichia coli, these functions are separated to avoid futile cycling. In L. pneumophila, DsbA2 is maintained as a mixture of disul...

Background: Legionella pneumophila (Lpn) is a Gram negative, intracellular parasite of free living protozoa that when aerosolized causes Legionnaires’ disease, an occasionally fatal pneumonia. The Dot/Icm type IVb secretion system (T4SS) is the main virulence mechanism and is dependent on correct disulfide bond (DSB) formation catalyzed by a novel...

Background: One method of addressing the increasing burden of antimicrobial resistance is through an ASP but many community hospitals do not have an established ASP or ID consultant. Almost half of U. S. hospitals are community based, with 100 beds or fewer. However, little is known about the cost or benefit of an ASP in these facilities. Methods...

Whooping cough results from infection of the respiratory tract with Bordetella pertussis, and the secreted adenylate cyclase toxin (ACT) is essential for the bacterium to establish infection. Despite extensive study of the mechanism of ACT cytotoxicity and its effects over a range of concentrations in vitro, ACT has not been observed or quantified...

The extracytoplasmic assembly of the Dot/Icm type IVb secretion system (T4SS) of Legionella pneumophila is dependent on correct disulfide bond (DSB) formation catalyzed by a novel and essential disulfide bond oxidoreductase DsbA2 and not by DsbA1, a second nonessential DSB oxidoreductase. DsbA2, which is widely distributed in the microbial world, i...

Legionella pneumophila is an intracellular pathogen of free-living protozoa that can also infect alveolar macrophages, L929 fibroblast cells, and HeLa cells. Infection of nonphagocytic cells by L. pneumophila can be used to study invasion mechanisms, compare infectivity of different strains and identify factors important for virulence. Virulent str...

Community-associated (CA) methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains have emerged as major human pathogens. CA-MRSA virulence appears to be distinct from healthcare-associated (HA) MRSA with several factors [α-hemolysin (Hla), Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL), α-type phenol soluble modulins (PSMα) and SCCmec IV] postulated to enhan...

Staphylococcus aureus capsule synthesis requires the precursor N-acetyl-glucosamine; however, capsule is synthesized during post-exponential growth when the availability of N-acetyl-glucosamine is limited. Capsule biosynthesis also requires aerobic respiration, leading us to hypothesize that capsule synthesis requires tricarboxylic acid cycle inter...

We investigated whether nematodes contribute to the persistence, differentiation and amplification of Legionella species in soil, an emerging source for Legionnaires' disease. Here we show that Legionella spp. colonize the intestinal tracts of Caenorhabditis nematodes leading to worm death. Susceptibility to Legionella is influenced by innate immun...