Frances Chung MBBS, FRCPC
Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Toronto
Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network
McL 2-405, 399 Bathurst Street, Toronto, On, Canada M5T 2S8
Phone 416 603 5800 ext 5433
Fax 416 603 6494
Email - Frances.Chung@uhn.ca
My Bibliography

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Biography

Conferences and Presentations

Awards and Honours

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Biography [Link to top]

Dr. Frances Chung is a Professor of the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at the University Health Network, University of Toronto. She is the ResMed Research Chair of Anesthesia, Sleep, and Perioperative Medicine at University Health Network. She is the Co-Founder and Past President of the Society of Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine. She is awarded the
2022 - Research.com Best Female Scientist Award https://research.com/u/frances-chung Her D-Index is 102 with 378 publications and 37507 citations. She is a top 25 female scientist in Canada and top 820 in the world.
Her research interests are in several areas: cognitive impairment, sleep apnea, pain, patient safety, monitoring, perioperative medicine, and ambulatory anesthesia. The multi-disciplinary research team that she leads at Toronto Western Hospital is recognized nationally and internationally for contributing to several key areas of research in obstructive sleep apnea, sleep, and pain.

Her works led to development of the Post anesthesia Discharge Score (PADS) for the safe discharge of patients from ambulatory surgical unit to home. This score has been adopted worldwide. She developed the STOP-Bang questionnaire www.stopbang.ca, which is a worldwide screening tool for patients with undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea. She has lectured at many national and international meetings, including over 480 invited lectures. Her research work has been recognized through multiple awards including the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada's McLaughlin-Gallie Visiting Professorship; the Research Recognition Award from the Canadian Anesthesiologist's Society; Research Award from the Department of Anesthesia, University of Toronto; Fellow Teaching Award, University Health Network, the Distinguished Services Award from the Society For Ambulatory Anesthesia, and Life-time Achievement Award by the Society of Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine. Given her expertise, she has been instrumental in developing 14 Guidelines in obstructive sleep apnea, morbid obesity, postoperative nausea and vomiting, post-anesthesia care and ambulatory anesthesia for the American Society of Anesthesiologists, Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia and Society of Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine.

Research Synopsis: My most significant contribution has been in generating evidence to prevent postoperative events in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). My work systematically addressed the early screening for OSA, diagnostic methods and perioperative management. For knowledge translation, I was the Founding Chair of Society of Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine (http://sasmhq.org/) (2010/11), President Elect 2011-13 and President 2013-15. I have established myself as an expert in the area, and I hold the ResMed Inaugural Research Chair of Anesthesiology, Sleep Medicine at University Health network. My major contributions are:

1. Development of the STOP-Bang questionnaire (www.stopbang.ca); a validated and user-friendly tool to screen for OSA in different populations. Chung F et al. STOP Questionnaire: A tool to screen patients for OSA. Anesthesiology. 2008; 108:812-21. It is a guideline-recommended OSA screening tool in patients with suspected OSA. Web of Science, citation 841.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18431116

Chung F et al. High STOP-Bang score indicates a high probability of OSA. Br J Anaesth. 2012; 108: 768-775. This publication on STOP-Bang score was chosen as one of the top 25 key papers of major importance and contribution to the field of anesthesia in the history of anesthesia by British Journal of Anaesthesia. Web of Science, citation 330. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22401881 I chaired the International 28 member Task Force of Society of Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine to develop 2016 "Guidelines on Preoperative Screening and Assessment of Patients with OSA". 1st Author, Anesth Analg 2016;123:452-73. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4956681

2. Co-Chair and senior author: International POSA trial group on "Postoperative Vascular Events in Unrecognized OSA (POSA)". We completed the POSA study to determine the associations between OSA, and major postoperative CV events in 1,218 moderate-to-high cardiac risk patients undergoing major noncardiac surgery. We determine that undiagnosed surgical patients have higher risk of postoperative cardiovascular complications.

Chan MT..Chung F. Association of Unrecognized Obstructive Sleep Apnea With Postoperative Cardiovascular Events in Patients Undergoing Major Noncardiac Surgery. JAMA. 2019. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2733209

3. Co-Chair and senior author: Research Priorities Workshop for "Knowledge Gaps in the Perioperative Management of Adults with OSA and Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome" at the 2016 American Thoracic Society Conference. Conclusion: Further research is urgently needed to improve health outcomes and reduce health care costs. Annals of American Thoracic Society 2018; 15:117-26.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29388810

4. Co-Chair and senior author: Task Force of the Society of Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine Guidelines on Intraoperative Management of Adult Patients with OSA. Society of Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine Guideline on Intraoperative management of adult patients with OSA. Anesth Analg. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29944522

Appointments:ResMed Research Chair of Anesthesia, Sleep, and Perioperative Medicine at University Health Network; Chair of Promotion Committee, Dept of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine

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Conferences and Presentations [Link to top]

Nov 15 2019 Invited speaker. Visiting professor. Peri-operative management of sleep apnea, Journee de formation Interdiscipliniare, Federation de Medicine of Specialists of Quebec, Quebec City, Quebec.
Nov 6 2019 Visiting professor. Sleep Apnea and Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome: Dangers and Pitfalls of Anesthesia. Tang Tok Seng Hospital, Singapore
Nov 5 2019 Visiting professor. Sleep Apnea and Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome: Dangers and Pitfalls of Anesthesia. Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Singapore
Nov 4 2019 Visiting professor. Sleep Apnea and Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome: Dangers and Pitfalls of Anesthesia. National University Hospital, Singapore
Nov 4 2019 Visiting professor. Sleep Apnea and Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome: Dangers and Pitfalls of Anesthesia. Singapore General Hospital, Singapore
Nov 3, 2019 Invited speaker. Sleep apnea and obesity hypoventilation syndrome: Dangers and pitfalls of anesthesia. Evidence Based Perioperative Medicine EBPOM -Asia 2019, Scientific meeting of Singapore Society of Anaesthesiologists, Singapore
Nov 3 2019 Keynote speaker. Enhanced recovery after ambulatory surgery: What knowledge we should have and what are the practical steps? Evidence Based Perioperative Medicine EBPOM -Asia 2019, Scientific meeting of Singapore Society of Anaesthesiologists, Singapore
Oct 16 2019 Invited speaker. Development of the STOP-Bang questionnaire. Australasian Sleep Association Scientific Meeting, Sydney, Australia
Oct 17 2019 Invited speaker. Chronic pain, opioids, and sleep disordered breathing, what knowledge we should have? Australasian Sleep Association Scientific Meeting, Sydney, Australia.
Oct 18,2019 Invited speaker. Preoperative screening for sleep apnea and CPAP treatment, is this evidence-based? Australasian Sleep Association Scientific Meeting, Sydney, Australia
Oct 18,2019 Invited speaker, Morbid obesity and obesity hypoventilation syndrome. A clinical challenge for surgery and anesthesia. Australasian Sleep Association Scientific Meeting, Sydney, Australia.
Oct 19 2019 Invited speaker. Perioperative management of patients with sleep apnea. Australasian Sleep Association Scientific Meeting, Sydney, Australia.
Sept 23 2019 Invited speaker. Obstructive sleep apnea, and obesity hypoventilation syndrome: Who should be assessed, and how should we optimize? World Sleep Congress, Vancouver, Canada
Sept 13, 2019 Invited Speaker. Surgical Patients with sleep apnea: A potential for disaster? University of Toronto Centre for Sleep Medicine and Circadian Biology, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto
August 3 2019 Invited Speaker. Obstructive sleep apnea: Are we sleep walking towards disaster? Annual Meeting of Chinese Society of Perioperative Organ Protection and the Annual Meeting of Perioperative Rehabilitation Medicine. Beijng, China
May 19, 2019 Invited Speaker. Association of unrecognized OSA with postoperative cardiovascular events in patients undergoing major non-cardiac surgery. American Thoracic Society, Dallas, Texas.
May 13, 2019 Invited Speaker. How to get promoted easily? Undergraduate Committee Retreat, Department of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, University of Toronto.
May 11, 2019 Keynote Speaker. Perioperative Care of Obstructive Sleep Apnea. 10th International Surgical Sleep Society Meeting, New York City, New York.
May 4, 2019 Invited Speaker. Perioperative Management of Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Can-Am Anesthesia Meeting, Niagara Falls, Ontario.
April 12, 2019 Invited Speaker. Preoperative carbohydrate loading and Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting. Meeting of Task Force for Guideline for Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting, International Anesthesia and Research Society. Las Vegas, USA.
March 21, 2019 Invited Speaker. Perioperative management of patients with obstructive sleep apnea, Mississauga General Hospital Anesthesia Grand Round, Mississauga, Ontario.
Feb 15, 2019 Invited Speaker. Postoperative Respiratory failure/depression: Who? When? How? Knowledge that we should have? Society for Perioperative Assessment and Quality Improvement Annual Meeting. Orlando, USA.
Feb 5, 2019 Invited Speaker. The Process of Promotion. Creative professional workshop. Dept. of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, University of Toronto.
Nov 7, 2018 Invited Speaker. Obstructive sleep apnea, and obesity hypoventilation syndrome: Who should be assessed, method of assessment and optimization. Visiting professor, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Nov 7, 2018 Invited speaker. Preliminary Results from the Society of Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine (SASM) OSA Registry Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Oct 13, 2018 Invited speaker. Hot, Important and Controversial Topics in Ambulatory and Office-Based Anesthesia. American Society of Anesthesiologists Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, USA.
Oct 13, 2018 Invited Speaker. Ambulatory Patients with Sleep Apnea: Practical Application of SAMBA and SASM Guidelines. American Society of Anesthesiologists Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, USA.
Sept 29, 2018 Keynote Speaker, Hustead Memorial Lecture. Obstructive sleep apnea, and obesity hypoventilation syndrome: Who should be assessed, method of assessment and optimization. Ophthalmic Anesthesia Society Annual Meeting, Chicago, Michigan, USA.
Sep 28, 2018 Speaker. Obstructive sleep apnea, and obesity hypoventilation syndrome: What should we know. Keynote speaker. Ophthalmic Anesthesia Society Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, USA.
Aug 13, 2018 Keynote Speaker. Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome and morbid obesity: A major challenge? Edinburgh Anesthesia Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Aug 14, 2018 Invited speaker. Screening of obstructive sleep apnea and CPAP therapy: Is it evidence based? Edinburgh Anesthesia Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland.
June 17, 2018 Invited speaker. Perioperative management of sleep apnea in otolaryngologic surgery. Canadian Society of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery Annual Meeting, Quebec, Canada.
June 6, 2018 Invited Speaker. Mechanical methods to avoid postoperative obstructive breathing in sleep apnea patients. European Anesthesiology Congress, Copenhagen, Denmark.
May 11, 2018 Invited Speaker. Obstructive sleep apnea: Who should be assessed, method of assessment, and perioperative management? Perioperative Care Congress, Toronto, Canada.
May 1, 2018 Invited Speaker. Death or near-death reports of respiratory depression: Lessons learned. International Anesthesia Research Society Annual Meeting, Chicago, USA.
April 15, 2018 Speaker. POSA future trials, POSA Research Group meeting, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
April 14, 2018 Invited speaker. Best practices in managing obstructive sleep apnea: Applications of Society of Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine Guidelines. University Malaya Medical BREATH meeting, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
April 14, 2018 Invited speaker. Enhanced recovery after surgery: Current best practice and Implementation. University Malaya Medical BREATH meeting, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
April 13, 2018 Visiting professor. Enhanced recovery after surgery: Current best practice and Implementation. University Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
March 24, 2018 Keynote Speaker. Southern Sleep Society, Hilton Heads, South Carolina. Obstructive sleep apnea in surgical patients: Evidence for preoperative screening and CPAP therapy.
March 22, 2018 Invited Speaker. Enhanced recovery after surgery: Evidence, recommendations and implementation. Cancun Anesthesia Seminar, Cancun, Mexico.
March 19, 2018 Invited Speaker. Obstructive sleep apnea: Are we sleepwalking towards disaster? Cancun Anesthesia Seminar, Cancun, Mexico.
March 20, 2018 Invited Speaker. Morbid obesity and obesity hypoventilation syndrome: A clinical challenge. Cancun Anesthesia Seminar, Cancun, Mexico.

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Awards and Honours [Link to top]

2017 On 2017 World Anesthesia Day, British Journal of Anaesthesia highlighted the top 25 key papers in the journal over the years of major importance to the field of anesthesia. They were selected based on their novelty, significance, impact and contribution to the practice of anesthesia, critical care and pain medicine. https://academic.oup.com/bja/pages/world_anaesthesia_day_2017. The work of our team "High STOP-Bang score indicates a high probability of obstructive sleep apnea" was chosen as one of the top 25 articles
2016 Angela Enright Keynote Lecture, Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society Annual Meeting
2014 Keynote Speaker, Congress of Shanghai Association of Anesthesiologists
2014 Research Highlights: Sleep and Anesthesia, Shield's Day, University of Toronto
2013-2015 President, Society of Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine
2013 Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada's McLaughlin-Gallie Visiting Professorship for 2013. McLaughlin-Gallie Visiting Professors are selected from any country in the world and may represent any branch of medicine. The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons Awards committee in conjunction with the Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society selected me in recognition of my outstanding contributions related to two areas of research: ambulatory anesthesia and sleep apnea.
2013 Keynote Speaker, United Christian Hospital, Hong Kong
2013 Keynote Speaker and Judge of Residents' Research Competition, University of Saskatchewan, Regina, Saskatoon
2012 Chinese American Society of Anesthesiologists, Honorary Member
2010 Co-Founder of Society of Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine
2011 Excellence and Innovation Research Award, Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia
2010 Fellowship Teaching Award, Department of Anesthesia, MSH-University Health Network
2010 Keynote Speaker, Malaysian Day Surgery Congress, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2009 Distinguished Services Award, Society For Ambulatory Anesthesia
2010 Keynote Speaker and Judge of Resident Research Competition, Laval University, Quebec City, Quebec
2008 Anesthesia Faculty Research Award, Department of Anesthesia, University of Toronto
2007 Research Recognition Award, Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society
2004 Keynote Speaker and Judge of Resident Research Competition, St John's Regional Health Centre, St. John's, Newfoundland
2003 President of Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia
2002 Keynote Speaker and Judge of Resident Research Competition, Ottawa Hospitals, Ottawa, Ontario
2002 Keynote Speaker, Annual McGill Anesthesia Update, Montreal, Quebec.