Development of web- and mobile-based shared decision-making tools in the neurological intensive care unit.

In the neurological intensive care unit (neuroICU), patients with severe acute brain injury (SABI) are rendered unable to make their own healthcare decisions. The responsibility of making life-or-death decisions, such as goals of care, is carried by surrogate decision-makers, usually families. In addition to the burden of decision-making, the emotional burden on families is further compounded by prognostication uncertainty, time-pressure for decision-making, and difficulties in understanding and interpreting the patient's values and preferences, ultimately resulting in potential clinician-family communication breakdown.

Difficult Encounters in Chronic Pain Patients: A Cohort Study.

Objective: To determine variables associated with difficult clinical encounters.

Patients And Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 428 new patients evaluated from 2022 to 2023. Demographic, clinical, social (eg, missed appointments, prior felony conviction, prior pain physicians, medical assistance) and visit-related (eg, visit took longer than expected, difficulty communicating) information was recorded, supplemented by in-person history gathered by the trainee and attending whose demographic data were also recorded.

Off-the-shelf allogeneic natural killer cells for the treatment of COVID-19.

Low levels and function of natural killer (NK) cells are associated with increased coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity. NK cell immunotherapy may improve immune function to reduce infection severity. We conducted a first-in-human, open-label, phase 1, dose-escalating (100 × 10, 300 × 10, or 900 × 10 cells) study of a single dose of DVX201, a cord-blood-derived allogeneic NK cell therapy, in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Impact of Left Ventricular Venting on Acute Brain Injury in Patients with Cardiogenic Shock: An Extracorporeal Life Support Organization Registry Analysis.

Background: While left ventricular (LV) venting reduces LV distension in cardiogenic shock patients on venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO), it may also amplify risk of acute brain injury (ABI). We investigated the hypothesis that LV venting is associated with increased risk of ABI. We also compared ABI risk of the two most common LV venting strategies, percutaneous microaxial flow pump (mAFP) and intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP).