Feasibility of a blood pressure telemedicine program in the virtual age.

Background: Despite strong evidence for maintaining blood pressure (BP) < 130/80 for secondary stroke prevention, there have been many barriers toward achieving this goal. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the feasibility of a new physician-led BP telemedicine program on the improvement of BP and medication compliance in stroke survivors.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled patients with a history of stroke and hypertension into this BP telemedicine program where participants were paired with a physician for one-on-one counseling.

Association between telehealth use in oncology and downstream utilization at a large academic health system.

Background: While telemedicine has been beneficial in oncology by reducing infectious exposure and improving access for patients with poor functional status, it also has intrinsic limitations, including the inability to perform a physical exam, which could lead to increased downstream utilization in this population at high risk of medical decompensation. We conducted a retrospective cohort study investigating the relationship between telemedicine use in oncology and subsequent outpatient oncology encounters, emergency department (ED) visits, and hospitalizations.

Methods: We included outpatient oncology encounters, including telemedicine and in-person visits, occurring between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2022 at a large academic health system.

Populations and Interventions for Palliative and End-of-Life Care: A Systematic Review.

Importance: Evidence supports palliative care effectiveness. Given workforce constraints and the costs of new services, payers and providers need help to prioritize their investments. They need to know which patients to target, which personnel to hire, and which services best improve outcomes.

Factors Associated with Family Reports of Pain, Dyspnea, and Depression in the Last Year of Life.

Background: Pain, dyspnea, and depression are highly troubling near the end of life.

Objective: To characterize factors associated with clinically significant pain and the presence of dyspnea and depression during the last year of life in a nationally representative sample.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

A Systematic Review of Family Meeting Tools in Palliative and Intensive Care Settings.

Purpose: Family meetings can be challenging, requiring a range of skills and participation. We sought to identify tools available to aid the conduct of family meetings in palliative, hospice, and intensive care unit settings.

Methods: We systematically reviewed PubMed for articles describing family meeting tools and abstracted information on tool type, usage, and content.

Symptom trends in the last year of life from 1998 to 2010: a cohort study.

Background: Calls for improvement in end-of-life care have focused attention on the management of pain and other troubling symptoms at the end of life.

Objective: To describe changes in pain intensity and symptom prevalence during the last year of life from 1998 to 2010.

Design: Observational study.

A repetitive region of gammaherpesvirus genomic DNA is a ligand for induction of type I interferon.

Innate immune responses against viral infection, especially the induction of type I interferon, are critical for limiting the replication of the virus. Although it has been shown that DNA can induce type I interferon, to date no natural DNA ligand of a virus that induces type I interferon has been described. Here we screened the genome of murine gammaherpesvirus 68 with mutations at various genomic locations to map the region of DNA that induces type I interferon.