Critical Care Medicine

Executive Assistant: Meredith Malloy
Phone: 416-480-6100 ext. 62895
Email: Meredith.malloy@sunnybrook.ca

Education:

• A.B., 1997, biology, Harvard University, U.S.
• M.Sc., 2002, epidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, U.K.
• MD, 2003, Washington University in St. Louis, U.S.
• 2003–2004, internship, internal medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, U.S.
• 2004–2007, residency, anesthesiology, Columbia University Medical Center, U.S.
• 2007–2008, fellowship, critical care medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, U.S.

Appointments and Affiliations:

• Senior scientist, Evaluative Clinical Sciences, Tory Trauma Research Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute
• Staff physician, department of critical care medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
• Professor, department of anesthesia and interdepartmental division of critical care, U of T
• Visiting assistant professor, department of anesthesiology, Columbia University, U.S.

Research Foci:

• Intensive care unit occupancy and resource use
• Long-term outcomes after critical illness
• International comparisons in critical care
• Pharmaco-epidemiology of critical illness

Research Summary:

The focus of Dr. Wunsch’s research is on the organization and management of critical care services. In particular, she studies international comparisons of critical care, the use of large databases to understand resource utilization and long-term outcomes among critically ill patients and prescribing patterns.

Selected Publications:

See current publications on PubMed.

1. Vail E, Gershengorn HB, Hua M, Walkey AJ, Rubenfeld G, Wunsch H. Association between US norepinephrine shortage and mortality among patients with septic shock. JAMA. 2017 Apr 11;317(14):1433–42.
2. Gershengorn HB, Harrison DA, Garland A, Wilcox ME, Rowan KM, Wunsch H. Association of intensive care unit patient-to-intensivist ratios with hospital mortality. JAMA Intern Med. 2017 Mar 1;177(3):388–96.
3. Wunsch H, Christiansen C, Johansen MB, Olsen M, Ali N, Angus DC, Sorensen HT. Psychiatric diagnoses and psychoactive medication use among nonsurgical critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation. JAMA. 2014 Mar 19;311(11):1133–42.
4. Wunsch H, Guerra C, Barnato AE, Angus DC, G Li, Linde-Zwirble WT. Three-year mortality after intensive care for medicare beneficiaries in the United States. JAMA. 2010 Mar 3;303(9):849–56.

Related News and Stories:

• North American surgical patients seven times more likely to fill their opioid prescriptions than those in Sweden: Differences in use of painkillers suggest review of prescribing practices may be needed (Sept. 13, 2019)
• CIHR responds to revolt while releasing results: Peer rebellion brings promise of change to granting agency (July 18, 2016)
• Is there still a place for opioids? Doctors are grappling with how to relieve acute pain while minimizing opioid use and averting descent into chronic pain (SRI Magazine, 2016)