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Division of Infectious Diseases

Dominik Mertz

MD, MSc(C)

Education and Professional Standing

Dr. Mertz attended medical school at the University Basel, Switzerland. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine (2006) and Infectious Diseases (2009) in Switzerland and is board certified by the Swiss Medical Association in both disciplines. He moved to Hamilton, Ontario in August 2009 to complete a Masters Degree in Health Research Methodology.

Dr. Mertz is currently the Medical Director Infection Control and is practicing Infectious Diseases at McMaster University/Hamilton Health Sciences. He has a special interest in Antimicrobial Stewardship and is chairing the Antimicrobial Stewardship Working Group at Hamilton Health Sciences.

Research Areas and Clinical Focus:

• Antimicrobial stewardship
• Epidemiology and risk factors for resistance and infections by resistant bacteria
• Hand hygiene promotion and impact on infections
• Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology

Honours and Grants:

• Swiss Society for Infectious Diseases Award 2009 for best epidemiological research
• Swiss National Science Foundation fellowship for prospective researcher (October 2009 to September 2010)
• Swiss National Science Foundation Fellowship for advanced researchers (October 2010 to May 2011)
• Lichtenstein-Stiftung (Basel, Switzerland) fellowship (October 2010 to May 2011)

Selected Publications

1. Mertz D, Frei R, Jaussi B, Tietz A, Stebler C, Flückiger U, Widmer AF. Throat swabs are necessary to reliably detect carriers of Staphylococcus aureus Clin Infect Dis. 45:475-477; 2007
2. Mertz D, Khanlari B, Viktorin N, Battegay M, Fluckiger U. Intravenous antibiotic treatment of less than 28 days is sufficient for suppurative thrombophlebitis in intravenous drug users Clin Infect Dis. 46(5):741-744; 2008
3. Mertz D*, Viktorin N*, Wolbers M, Leimenstoll B, Flückiger U, Battegay M. Accuracy of Antibiotic Treatment in Intravenous Drug Users (*equal contribution) BMC Infect Dis. 8(1):24; 2008
4. Mertz D, Frei R, Jaussi B, Battegay M, Flückiger U, Widmer AF. Exclusive Staphylococcus aureus throat carriage. At risk populations. Arch Intern Med. 169(2):172-178; 2009
5. Mertz D, Koller M, Haller P, Lampert ML, Plagge H, Hug B, Koch G, Battegay M, Flückiger U, Bassetti S. Outcomes of early switching from intravenous to oral antibiotics on general medical wards J Antimicrob Chemother. 64(1):188-199; 2009
6. Mertz D, Frei R, Periat N, Scheidegger C, Hellstern P, Battegay M, Seiler W, Widmer AF Eradication of an epidemic methicillin-resistance Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from a geriatric university hospital: Evidence from a >10 years follow-up Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 29(8):987-93; 2010
7. Mertz D, Dafoe N, Walter SD, Brazil KL, Loeb M Effect of a multi-faceted intervention on adherence to hand hygiene among healthcare workers: a cluster randomized trial Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 31(11):1170-1176; 2010
8. Mertz D, Plagge H, Bassetti S, Battegay M, Widmer AF How much money can be saved by applying intravenous antibiotics once instead of several times a day? Infection. 38(6):479-82; 2010
9. Mertz D, Johnstone J, Loeb M Does duration of perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis matter in cardiac surgery? A systematic review Ann Surg. Epub ahead of print; 2011
10. Sun X, Briel M, Busse JW, You JJ, Akl EA, Majza F, Bala M, Bassler D, Mertz D, Diaz- Granados N, Vandvik PO, Malaga G, Srinathan SK, Dahm P, Johnston BC, Alonso-Coello P, Hassouneh B, Walter SD, Heels-Ansdell D, Altman DG, Guyatt GH The influence of industry funding on reporting of subgroup analyses in randomized controlled trials BMJ. 2011; 342:d1569
11. Mertz D, Johnstone J Modern management of community-acquired pneumonia: is it cost-effective and are outcomes acceptable [invited review article] Curr Infect Dis. 13(3): 269-77; 2011