Chierika Ukogu

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai | MSSM

Of background data: Cervical spine injuries commonly occur during athletic play, and such injuries carry significant risk for adverse sequelae if not properly managed. Although guidelines for managing return to play exist, adherence among spine surgeons has not been thoroughly examined. Study design: Prospective analysis of survey data collected...

Introduction: The effect of paternal characteristics on embryo development and the outcome of preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy have not been extensively explored. This study investigates the association of sperm parameters, insemination, and extraction techniques, with the rate of embryo aneuploidy. This study sought to evaluate the...

Study design: Cross-sectional database study. Objective: To train and validate machine learning models to identify risk factors for complications following surgery for adult spinal deformity (ASD). Summary of background data: Machine learning models such as logistic regression (LR) and artificial neural networks (ANNs) are valuable tools for a...

Study design: Retrospective study. Objective: To determine the rates of early postoperative mortality and morbidity in adults with hypoalbuminemia undergoing elective posterior lumbar fusion (PLF). Methods: The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) was examined from 2005 to 2012. Current Procedu...

BACKGROUND CONTEXT Chronic steroid therapy is widely utilized in the treatment of various inflammatory and autoimmune conditions. Despite their demonstrated therapeutic value, steroids are known to be associated with adverse effects. There remains a gap in the literature regarding the role of chronic steroid therapy in predisposing patients to peri...

BACKGROUND CONTEXT Quality improvement studies have provided surgeons with systematic insight on how to make changes to their practice to improve patient outcomes and avoid complications. However, currently most automated methods to identify patient complications for quality improvement studies rely on prelabeled administrative codes sampling data...

Background context: Low back pain (LBP) is a common complaint in clinical practice of multifactorial origin. Although obesity has been thought to contribute to LBP primarily by altering the distribution of mechanical loads on the spine, the additional contribution of obesity-related conditions such as diabetes mellitus (DM) to LBP has not been tho...

Study Design Retrospective cohort study. Objectives The prevalence of obesity-related low back pain and degenerative disc disease is on the rise. Past studies have demonstrated that obesity is associated with higher perioperative complication rates, but there remains a gap in the literature regarding additional risk factors that further predispose...

Study design: Markov model analysis. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the 7-year cost-effectiveness of single-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) versus cervical disc replacement (CDR) for the treatment of cervical disc degeneration. Summary of background data: Both ACDF and CDR are acceptable surgical options...

Study Design Retrospective study. Objectives To determine rates of medical and surgical postoperative complications in adults with hypoalbuminemia undergoing anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF). Methods This was a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement...