Karim Ladha

MD, MSc, FRCPC

Scientist, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute

Biography

Dr. Karim Ladha is a clinician-scientist and staff anesthesiologist at St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto. Dr. Ladha received his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He then completed his anesthesia training at Massachusetts General Hospital and obtained a fellowship in cardiac anesthesia at Toronto General Hospital. He also holds a Master’s degree in clinical epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health. His program of research uses mixed methodologies to obtain a multifaceted view of pain and recovery after surgery including retrospective analyses of administrative databases, prospective observational studies, and multi-center randomized controlled trials. His research has been published in top-tier journals including JAMA, BMJ, British Journal of Anesthesia and Anesthesiology. He has received numerous awards for his work including the International Anesthesia Research Society Mentored Research Award, a new investigator award from the Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society and the IMPACT award in anesthesia.

His current research interests include:

–       Exploring the use of anesthetic drugs such as ketamine and nitrous oxide to treat depression

–       Understanding the role of cannabis in mitigating pain

–       Using wearable technology and mobile applications to track recovery after surgery

Please note: Dr. Ladha is not accepting any students at this time.

Recent Publications

  1. Mistry, N, Mazer, CD, Sivaswamy, A, Haldenby, O, Austin, PC, Sud, M et al.. Transfusion in Anemic Patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes: A Population-Based Cohort Study. Can J Cardiol. 2024; :. doi: 10.1016/j.cjca.2024.10.012. PubMed PMID:39427842 .
  2. Malhotra, AK, Jaffe, RH, Shakil, H, Mathieu, F, Nathens, AB, Kulkarni, AV et al.. Unemployment and Personal Income Loss After Traumatic Brain Injury. JAMA Surg. 2024; :. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2024.4285. PubMed PMID:39382862 .
  3. Diep, C, Patel, K, Petricca, J, Daza, JF, Lee, S, Xue, Y et al.. Incidence and relative risk of delirium after major surgery for patients with pre-operative depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Anaesthesia. 2024;79 (11):1237-1249. doi: 10.1111/anae.16398. PubMed PMID:39229767 .
  4. Shakil, H, Essa, A, Malhotra, AK, Jaffe, RH, Smith, CW, Yuan, EY et al.. Insurance-Related Disparities in Withdrawal of Life Support and Mortality After Spinal Cord Injury. JAMA Surg. 2024;159 (10):1196-1204. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2024.2967. PubMed PMID:39141362 PubMed Central PMC11325240.
  5. Martin, J, Gholamali Nezhad, F, Rueda, A, Lee, GH, Charlton, CE, Soltanzadeh, M et al.. Predicting treatment response to ketamine in treatment-resistant depression using auditory mismatch negativity: Study protocol. PLoS One. 2024;19 (8):e0308413. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0308413. PubMed PMID:39116153 PubMed Central PMC11309493.
  6. Khan, JS, Dana, E, Xiao, MZX, Rao, V, Djaiani, G, Seltzer, Z et al.. Prevalence and Risk Factors for Chronic Postsurgical Pain After Thoracic Surgery: A Prospective Cohort Study. J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth. 2024;38 (2):490-498. doi: 10.1053/j.jvca.2023.09.042. PubMed PMID:39093584 .
  7. Pagé, MG, Katz, J, Darville, R, Gabriel, G, Ladha, KS, Huang, A et al.. One-year opioid consumption trajectories among individuals receiving multidisciplinary postsurgical care: a single-center observational study from the Toronto General Hospital Transitional Pain Service. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2024; :. doi: 10.1136/rapm-2024-105344. PubMed PMID:39084703 .
  8. Goel, A, Kapoor, B, Wu, M, Iyayi, M, Englesakis, M, Kohan, L et al.. Perioperative Naltrexone Management: A Scoping Review by the Perioperative Pain and Addiction Interdisciplinary Network. Anesthesiology. 2024;141 (2):388-399. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000005040. PubMed PMID:38980158 .
  9. Maglaviceanu, A, Peer, M, Rockel, J, Bonin, RP, Fitzcharles, MA, Ladha, KS et al.. The State of Synthetic Cannabinoid Medications for the Treatment of Pain. CNS Drugs. 2024;38 (8):597-612. doi: 10.1007/s40263-024-01098-9. PubMed PMID:38951463 .
  10. Jaffe, RH, Coyte, PC, Chan, BC, Hancock-Howard, RL, Malhotra, AK, Ladha, K et al.. Traumatic Cervical Spinal Cord Injury and Income and Employment Status. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7 (6):e2418468. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.18468. PubMed PMID:38916890 PubMed Central PMC11200142.
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Affiliations & Other Activities

  • Department of Anesthesia and Pain Management – University of Toronto and St. Michael’s Hospital