Christopher D. Pfeiffer, M.D., M.H.S.

  • Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine
  • VA Portland Health Care System

Biography

Since 2011, Dr. Pfeiffer has served as the Hospital Epidemiologist at the VA Portland Health Care System (VAPORHCS) and as an Infectious Diseases (ID) physician, rounding on both General and Transplant ID consult services at VAPORHCS and Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). In 2012, he began what is a fruitful ongoing collaboration with the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) by becoming the Medical Director for our Drug-Resistant Organism Prevention and Coordinated Regional Epidemiology (DROP-CRE) Network. The primary goals of DROP-CRE Network, which is funded through OHA by CDC, are to prevent, detect, and control the spread of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) with a focus on carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) in Oregon. 

Over the past 5 years, Dr. Pfeiffer has become increasingly involved in multicenter collaborations. He is Principal Investigator of a CDC BAA contract entitled, "Preventing Spread of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaciae (CRE) among Veterans through an Automated Tracking System". For this 1-year project which is currently underway, he is implementing a novel electronic system to track patients with multidrug-resistant organisms such as CRE as they are transferred from facility-to-facility across the country at 10 VA medical centers. Also, he serves as a co-investigator for the VA HSR&D-funded CREATE projects as well as a recently completed pulsed xenon technology grant.   

Education and training

    • M.D., 2003, The Ohio State University
    • M.H.S., 2010, Duke University
  • Residency

    • Internal medicine, University of Wisconsin (Madison), 2006
  • Fellowship

    • Infectious diseases, Duke University, 2010
    • Medical Microbiology, Duke University, 2011
  • Certifications

    • American Board of Internal Medicine (internal medicine), 2006

Memberships and associations:

  • Infectious Diseases Society of America

Areas of interest

  • Healthcare-associated infection, multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), Hospital Epidemiology
  • Infections in the Immunocompromised Host, Hospital Epidemiology.

Publications

Elsevier pure profile

Selected publications

  • Pfeiffer CD, Fine JP, Safdar N. Diagnosis of Invasive Aspergillosis Using a Galactomannan Assay: a Meta-Analysis. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2006 May 15;42: 1417-27.
  • Pfeiffer CD, Garcia-Effron G, Zaas AK, Perfect JP, Perlin DA, Alexander BD. Breakthrough Invasive Candidiasis in Patients on Micafungin;Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 2010 Jul;48:2373-80.
  • Pfeiffer CD, Samsa GP, Schell WA, Reller LB, Perfect JR, Alexander BD. Quantitation of Candida CFU in initial positive blood cultures. Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 2011 Aug;49:2879-83.
  • Alexander BD, Johnson MD, Pfeiffer CD, Jiménez-Ortigosa C, Catania J, Booker R, Castanheira M, Messer SA, Perlin DS, Pfaller MA. Increasing Echinocandin Resistance in Candida glabrata: Clinical Failure Correlates With Presence of FKS Mutations and Elevated Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations. Clin Infect Dis. 2013 Jun;56(12):1724-32. doi: 10.1093/cid/cit136. Epub 2013 Mar 13.PMID: 23487382.
  • Pfeiffer CD, Cunningham MC, Poissant T, Furuno JP, Townes JM, Leitz A, Thomas A, Buser GM, Arao RF, Beldavs ZG. Establishment of a Statewide Network for Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae Prevention in a Low Incidence Region. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2014 Apr;35(4):356-61. doi: 10.1086/675605. PMID: 24602939.
  • Pfeiffer CD and Beldavs ZG. Commentary: Much to Do about Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae: Why Supplementing Surveillance May Be the Key to Stopping Spread. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2014 Aug;35(8):984-5. doi: 10.1086/677158. Epub 2014 Jun 20. PMID:25026613.
  • Morey KE, Vega R, Cassidy PM, Buser GL, Rayar JK, Myers JA, Weissman SJ, Beldavs ZG, Pfeiffer CD. Evaluation of the Carba NP Test in Oregon, 2013. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2016 Dec 27;61(1). pii: e03005-15. doi: 10.1128/AAC.03005-15. Print 2017 Jan. PMID: 27795386.
  • Guidance for Control of Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE): 2016 Oregon Toolkit. The Oregon Health Authority, Acute and Communicable Disease Prevention Program. Published December, 2015.