Laura Certain
( out of 48 reviews )

Laura Certain, MD, PhD

Languages spoken: English

  • Dr. Certain joined the Infectious Diseases Division at the University of Utah in the fall of 2017. She sees patients in the infectious disease outpatient clinic and on the inpatient infectious diseases consult services at the University of Utah Hospital. Her particular area of interest is orthopedic infections, and she works closely with the Orthopedic Surgery department to improve care for patients with these infections. That said, she enjoys the variety offered by a general ID practice and is happy to see patients with any infectious complaint.

    Specialties

    Board Certification

    American Board of Internal Medicine
    American Board of Internal Medicine (Sub: Infectious Disease)

    Patient Rating

    4.9 /5
    ( out of 48 reviews )

    The patient rating score is an average of all responses on our patient experience survey. The rating averages scores for all questions about care from our providers.

    The scale on which responses are measured is 1 to 5 with 5 being the best score.

    Patient Comments

    Patient comments are gathered from our patient experience survey and displayed in their entirety.
    Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.

    February 09, 2024
    UH HOSPITALS AND CLINICS

    Dr. Certain went above and beyond to fit me last minute into her busy schedule due to a last minute cancellation by another provider. She listened to me, answered my questions and helped me understand the situation without making me feel rushed. I really appreciated her kindness and compassion. She made me feel very confident in her ability to help me navigate through this issue.

    January 26, 2024
    ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

    I recommend Dr. Certain to anyone needing an infectious disease specialist.

    December 13, 2023
    ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

    Very knowledgeable and thoughtful explanation of thinking about therapy options

    December 01, 2023
    ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

    Dr. Certain had a very thorough understanding of my unique situation from reviewing my records prior to my appointment, which was so helpful as I didn¿t need to explain my history for what feels like it would be the millionth time. She listened to my concerns and we had an open dialogue about this best treatment plan for my situation. I have not had this level of care since leaving the University of Pennsylvania system and moving to Montana. I am very grateful that University of Utah offers this high caliber of infectious disease specialists that is available for virtual visits

    November 03, 2023
    ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

    Excellent care and goes extra mile to get answers

    November 01, 2023
    ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

    I appreciate that she explains everything to me regarding chronic artificial joint infections. And she listens to my concerns.

    October 25, 2023
    ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

    As mentioned she is very knowledgeable and uses common sense. She involves me in my health care decisions. I have complete trust in her recommendations.

    October 19, 2023
    ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

    Explained in earlier comments

    October 05, 2023
    ORTHOPAEDICS CENTER

    Very professional and friendly..she told time answering all of my questions and I never felt that she was in a hurry to get to her next patient.

    See More Patient Comments

  • Dr. Certain joined the Infectious Diseases Division at the University of Utah in the fall of 2017. She sees patients in the infectious disease outpatient clinic and on the inpatient infectious diseases consult services at the University of Utah Hospital. Her particular area of interest is orthopedic infections, and she works closely with the Orthopedic Surgery department to improve care for patients with these infections. That said, she enjoys the variety offered by a general ID practice and is happy to see patients with any infectious complaint.

    Board Certification and Academic Information

    Academic Departments Internal Medicine -Primary
    Orthopaedics -Adjunct
    Academic Divisions Infectious Diseases
    Board Certification
    American Board of Internal Medicine
    American Board of Internal Medicine (Sub: Infectious Disease)

    Education history

    Research Fellow Infectious Diseases - Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University Postdoctoral Research Fellow
    Infectious Diseases - Massachusetts General Hospital / Brigham and Women's Hospital Fellow
    Residency Internal Medicine - Massachusetts General Hospital Resident
    Genome Sciences - University of Washington School of Medicine Ph.D.
    Professional Medical Medicine - University of Washington School of Medicine M.D.
    Chemistry - Princeton University B.A.

    Selected Publications

    Journal Article

    1. Savas MJ, Gray KF, Blackburn BE, Pelt CE, Gililland JM, Certain LK (2023). Association of Acute Kidney Injury With Antibiotic Loaded Cement Used for Treatment of Periprosthetic Joint Infection. J Arthroplasty, 38(12), 2704-2709.e1. (Read full article)
    2. Brown DG, Wahlig TA, Ma A, Certain LK, Chalmers PN, Fisher MA, Leung DT (2023). Genomic Characterization of 2 Cutibacterium acnes Isolates from a Surgical Site Infection Reveals Large Genomic Inversion. Pathog Immun, 8(1), 64-76. (Read full article)
    3. Gallagher CK, Cummins H, Benefield RJ, Certain LK (2023). Switching from intravenous vancomycin to oral antibiotics reduces adverse events in a retrospective cohort of outpatients with orthopedic infections. Pharmacotherapy. (Read full article)
    4. Cortes-Penfield N, Krsak M, Damioli L, Henry M, Seidelman J, Hewlett A, Certain L (2023). How we approach suppressive antibiotic therapy (SAT) following debridement, antibiotics, and implant retention for prosthetic joint infection. Clin Infect Dis. (Read full article)
    5. Certain LK, Benefield RJ, Newman M, Zhang M, Thomas FO (2022). A Quality Initiative to Improve Postdischarge Care for Patients on Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy. Open Forum Infect Dis, 9(7), ofac199. (Read full article)
    6. Kelly MP, Gililland JM, Blackburn BE, Anderson LA, Pelt CE, Certain LK (2022). Extended Oral Antibiotics Increase Bacterial Resistance in Patients Who Fail 2-Stage Exchange for Periprosthetic Joint Infection. J Arthroplasty, 37, S989-S996. (Read full article)
    7. Carlson VR, Dekeyser GJ, Certain L, Pupaibool J, Gililland JM, Anderson LA (2020). Clinical Experience With a Coordinated Multidisciplinary Approach to Treating Prosthetic Joint Infection. Arthroplast Today, 6(3), 360-362. (Read full article)
    8. Anderson MB, Arciola CR, Sarvanan SA, Campoccia D, Certain L, Diaz-Ledezma C, Montanaro L, Aguilera SP, Pelt CE, Puhto AP, Sergei O, Tikhilov R, Voloshin V, Yan CH (2018). General Assembly, Treatment, Multidisciplinary Issues: Proceedings of International Consensus on Orthopedic Infections. J Arthroplasty, 34(2S), S239-S243. (Read full article)
    9. Zainul-Abidin S, Amanatullah DF, Anderson MB, Austin M, Barretto JM, Battenberg A, Bedard NA, Bell K, Blevins K, Callaghan JJ, Cao L, Certain L, Chang Y, Chen JP, Cizmic Z, Coward J, DeMik DE, Diaz-Borjon E, Enayatollahi MA, Feng JE, Fernando N, Gililland JM, Goodman S, Goodman S, Greenky M, Hwang K, Iorio R, Karas V, Khan R, Kheir M, Klement MR, Kunutsor SK, Limas R, Morales Maldonado RA, Manrique J, Matar WY, Mokete L, Nung N, Pelt CE, Pietrzak JRT, Premkumar A, Rondon A, Sanchez M, Novaes de Santana C, Sheth N, Singh J, Springer BD, Tay KS, Varin D, Wellman S, Wu L, Xu C, Yates AJ (2018). General Assembly, Prevention, Host Related General: Proceedings of International Consensus on Orthopedic Infections. J Arthroplasty, 34(2S), S13-S35. (Read full article)
    10. Certain LK, Way JC, Pezone MJ, Collins JJ (2017). Using Engineered Bacteria to Characterize Infection Dynamics and Antibiotic Effects In Vivo. Cell Host Microbe, 22(3), 263-268.e4. (Read full article)

    Review

    1. Hellwinkel JE, Working ZM, Certain L, Garca AJ, Wenke JC, Bahney CS (2022). The intersection of fracture healing and infection: Orthopaedics research society workshop 2021. [Review]. J Orthop Res, 40(3), 541-552. (Read full article)

    Case Report

    1. Compton T, Ferguson NA, Certain L, Nixon D (2024). Extrapulmonary, Chronic Septic Arthritis From Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the Ankle and Subtalar Joints. J Am Acad Orthop Surg Glob Res Rev, 8(3). (Read full article)

    Letter

    1. Zukauckas K, Benefield RJ, Newman M, Certain L (2022). Why Bother? Lab Monitoring in Beta-Lactam Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy. [Letter to the editor]. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 66(6), e0057922. (Read full article)

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