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Ashwin Sankar

MD, MSc, FRCPC

Investigator, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute

Email: ashwin.sankar@mail.utoronto.ca
Tel: 416-864-5825
Twitter: @ash_san

Research Programs

Biography

Dr. Sankar is a Clinician-Investigator in anesthesiology and perioperative medicine based at St. Michael’s Hospital, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at the University of Toronto. He is also appointed as an ICES Fellow.

He obtained his undergraduate degree in Health Sciences at McMaster University, followed by his medical degree at the University of Toronto. He was recruited to the Anesthesiology Clinician Investigator residency program at the University of Toronto, where he completed Anesthesiology residency training in addition to a MSc in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Care Research at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation.

He currently practices across the full scope of clinical anesthesiology, and is building a research program in perioperative medicine. His current research interests include:

-Identifying risk of long-term complications in patients with respiratory comorbidities who undergo surgery

-Evaluating risks of anesthesia among medical inpatients undergoing surgical procedures

-Describing barriers in access to surgery across Ontario

Recent Publications

  1. Sankar, A, Stukel, TA, Baxter, NN, Wijeysundera, DN, Hwang, SW, Wilton, AS et al.. Disparities in surgery rates during the COVID-19 pandemic: retrospective study. BJS Open. 2024;8 (4):. doi: 10.1093/bjsopen/zrae088. PubMed PMID:39186678 PubMed Central PMC11346633.
  2. Abbott, M, Pereira, SM, Sanders, N, Girard, M, Sankar, A, Sklar, MC et al.. Weaning from mechanical ventilation in the operating room: a systematic review. Br J Anaesth. 2024;133 (2):424-436. doi: 10.1016/j.bja.2024.03.043. PubMed PMID:38816331 PubMed Central PMC11282496.
  3. Teja, B, Bosch, NA, Diep, C, Pereira, TV, Mauricio, P, Sklar, MC et al.. Complication Rates of Central Venous Catheters: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2024;184 (5):474-482. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2023.8232. PubMed PMID:38436976 .
  4. Stephenson, R, Sarhangian, V, Park, J, Sankar, A, Baxter, NN, Stukel, TA et al.. Evolution of the surgical procedure gap during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada: cross-sectional and modelling study. Br J Surg. 2023;110 (12):1887-1889. doi: 10.1093/bjs/znad289. PubMed PMID:37724806 PubMed Central PMC10638533.
  5. Sankar, A, Thorpe, K, McIsaac, DI, Luo, J, Wijeysundera, DN, Gershon, AS et al.. Survival and health care costs after inpatient elective surgery: comparison of patients with and without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. CMAJ. 2023;195 (2):E62-E71. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.220733. PubMed PMID:36649951 PubMed Central PMC9851642.
  6. Kumar, R, Sun, LR, Rodriguez, V, Sankar, A, Sharma, M, Meoded, A et al.. Hemostatic and Thrombotic Considerations in the Diagnosis and Management of Childhood Arterial Ischemic Stroke: A Narrative Review. Semin Pediatr Neurol. 2022;43 :101003. doi: 10.1016/j.spen.2022.101003. PubMed PMID:36344025 .
  7. Sankar, A, Rotstein, AJ, Teja, B, Carrier, FM, Belley-Côté, EP, Bolliger, D et al.. Prolonged mechanical ventilation after cardiac surgery: substudy of the Transfusion Requirements in Cardiac Surgery III trial. Can J Anaesth. 2022;69 (12):1493-1506. doi: 10.1007/s12630-022-02319-9. PubMed PMID:36123418 PubMed Central PMC9484719.
  8. Sankar, A, Ladha, KS, Grover, SC, Jogendran, R, Tamming, D, Razak, F et al.. Predictors of ICU admission associated with gastrointestinal endoscopy in medical inpatients: A retrospective cohort study. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2022;37 (11):2074-2082. doi: 10.1111/jgh.15969. PubMed PMID:35869833 .
  9. Ruth, KS, Day, FR, Hussain, J, Martínez-Marchal, A, Aiken, CE, Azad, A et al.. Genetic insights into biological mechanisms governing human ovarian ageing. Nature. 2021;596 (7872):393-397. doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03779-7. PubMed PMID:34349265 PubMed Central PMC7611832.
  10. Sankar, A, Thorpe, KE, Gershon, AS, Granton, JT, Wijeysundera, DN. Association of preoperative spirometry with cardiopulmonary fitness and postoperative outcomes in surgical patients: A multicentre prospective cohort study. EClinicalMedicine. 2020;23 :100396. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2020.100396. PubMed PMID:32529180 PubMed Central PMC7280772.
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Affiliations & Other Activities

  • Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Toronto