Karen E. A. Burns MD, MSc (Epid), FRCPC

Biographical Sketch

Graduated from the University of Western Ontario Medical School and completed residencies in Internal Medicine, Respirology and Critical Care at the University of Western Ontario . In addition, Dr. Burns completed a clinical fellowship in Lung Transplantation at the University of Pittsburgh , a Master's degree in Clinical Epidemiology at McMaster University and two years of postdoctoral training in Clinical Epidemiology at McMaster University .

University Appointments

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Hospital Appointments

Staff Physician St Michael's Hospital

Clinical Activities

Attending physician in adult Critical Care (25%)
Clinical research (75%)

Educational Activities

Regular teaching sessions provided to senior residents, junior residents and medical students rotating through the Intensive Care Unit

Current Local, Provincial, National and International Activities

Member of the Continuing Medical Education Committee (Critical Care, St. Michael's Hospital) and the Organ Donation Committee (St Michael's Hospital). Dr. Burns is an active member of the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group.

Research Interests

• Weaning critically ill adults from invasive mechanical ventilation - investigating automated weaning in a multicentre, randomized controlled trial.
• Practice pattern variation in weaning - in the context of a National Survey and an International Survey of weaning practices and a bicentre, observational study.
• Acute renal failure in critically ill patients - exploring the role of N-acetylcysteine as a preventative agent in contrast associated nephropathy and in high risk patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery.
• Noninvasive mechanical ventilation - exploring its use in clinical practice and its role as a weaning strategy (meta-analysis).
• Survey methodology - developing informative guides on how to conduct a survey and advancing survey methodology as a systematic stream of inquiry.
• Pressure and volume limited ventilation - comparison of pressure and volume limited ventilation to traditional approaches to mechanical ventilation using meta-analytic techniques.

Current Grant Support

Canadian Institutes of Health Research: International Opportunity Program      
Development and Planning Grants
Principle Investigator Practice Pattern Variability in Weaning Critically Ill Adults from Mechanical Ventilation: An International Survey.
$25,000
 
Canadian Institutes of Health Research: Knowledge Translation
Co-Investigator: Scoping and Systematic Review of Noninvasive Mechanical Ventilation:Laying the Groundwork for Clinical Practice Guidelines
$ 50,000.00

Canadian Intensive Care Foundation
Principle Investigator Practice Pattern Variability in Weaning Critically Ill Adults from Mechanical Ventilation: An International Survey.
$ 20,000.00

Physician Services Incorporated
Principle Investigator Wean Earlier and Automatically with New Technology (The WEAN study): A Multicentre, Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
$ 74,700.00

Dean’s Fund (The University of Toronto)
Principle Investigator Practice Pattern Variability in Weaning Critically Ill Adults from Mechanical Ventilation: An International Survey.
$10,000

Le Réseau en Santé Respiratoire du FRSQ
Co-Principle Investigator
Wean Earlier and Automatically with New Technology (The WEAN study)
$ 25, 00.00

Hopital Laval Research Fund
Co-Principle Investigator
Wean Earlier and Automatically with New Technology (The WEAN study): A Multicentre, Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
$ 12,500.00

Ontario Thoracic Society Block Term Grant
Principle Investigator A Prospective Observational Study of Spontaneous Breathing Trial Use in Clinical Practice
$6,724.00

Selected Recent Publications

Click here for search results from PubMed

Please note: Dr Burns is not accepting respirology referrals