The Section of Infectious Diseases at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, brings together world-class specialists dedicated to developing and providing the latest treatments for patients with infectious diseases, including severe viral infections and invasive fungal infections.

Working together to investigate, prevent, diagnose and treat infectious diseases, our doctors and scientists set the standard for excellence in patient care. The department offers comprehensive laboratory services in the areas of bacteriology, mycology, mycobacteriology, virology, immunoserology and infectious serology, and molecular testing for certain selected microorganisms. Outpatient/home intravenous antibiotic therapy is available.

To schedule an appointment, call (312) 942-3665. Patients may need to get a referral from a primary care physician prior to the appointment. For patient consultations at the CORE Center, call (312) 572-4500.

Special areas of expertise include:

• Comprehensive treatment program for people with HIV infection and AIDS.
• Treatment of infections in people who receive organ transplants. To combat normal host rejection mechanisms, patients who receive organ transplants must take medications that suppress their immune systems. These medications increase susceptibility to infections. The section provides consultaitons and direct patient care to organ transplant patients who develop infections. For more information, contact David Simon, MD, PhD.
• Long-term outpatient intravenous antibiotic therapy and medical treatment for people who develop orthopedic infections. Patients are seen before and after surgery. In many of these patients, the section also supervises long-term antibiotic therapy. Treatment is available for patients with infections of both bone and prosthetic devices. For more information, contact John Segreti, MD.
• Evaluation and treatment for patients with tropical infections contracted while abroad. While most tropical infectious diseases do not pose a health threat to people in the United States, some can be easily contracted while Americans visit other parts of the world. These infections are often difficult to recognize and treat and may require special expertise. For more information, contact Gordon M. Trenholme, MD.
• Travel consultation and immunization for adults, children and those traveling with special needs, through our Travel Medicine and Immunization Clinic.
• Diagnosis and treatment of invasive fungal infections, with special expertise in managing these infections in people with compromised immune systems. We ofer standard treatments, as well as the latest therapies being studied in clinical trials. For more information, contact Laurie Proia, MD.
• Research on antimicrobial resistance: Hospital-acquired infections are difficult to treat because many of the bacteria that cause them are resistant to commonoly used antibiotics. Antibiotic resistant isolates usually require special expertise. The section conducts clinical trials of investigative antimicrobial agents that are useful in combatting difficult-to-treat microorganisms. For more information contact John Segreti, MD, Mary Hayden, MD, or Stephanie Black, MD. 

Gordon M. Trenholme, MD, the James R. Lowenstine Professor of Medicine, is director of the Section of Infectious Diseases at Rush. Section faculty members include internationally known experts in infectious disease diagnosis, treatment and research. All our physicians are board certified. Several members of the infectious disease team at Rush have been named among Chicago’s best doctors by Castle Connolly Ltd., a well-respected source of information about U.S. health care providers and institutions. For profiles of physicians specializing in infectious diseases and related areas at Rush, see the link for “Find a Doctor,” at left.