Visitation restriction and decision making: Healthcare surrogate experiences.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to discover whether hospital visitation restrictions imposed during COVID, and remaining at some institutions, influenced surrogate decision-making. METHODS: Thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews of people who served as healthcare surrogates for patients admitted to the intensive care unit with a palliative care consultation in January of 2021 at a large tertiary care hospital. RESULTS: Thirteen healthcare surrogates agreed to be interviewed out of the fifty-six who were identified and invited to participate. The following themes emerged: 1) Decision-making was delayed as surrogates desire to make decisions in conjunction with the patient; 2) visitation restriction disrupted processes of grief and end-of-life rituals; 3) it prevented healing that occurs with closeness to loved ones; 4) visitation permission was poorly communicated and inconsistent; 5) virtual connection was inconsistent and proved ineffective in context; 6) communication was often stressful and confusing. CONCLUSION: From the point of view of healthcare surrogates, visitation restriction disrupted the normal process of decision-making by impeding important healing and grief rituals, and making connection difficult, despite policies and technology that was meant to assist. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Visitation restriction carries risk such as delaying decision-making and the perceived healing benefits of visitation.

The Role of Multimodality Imaging in HIV-Associated Cardiomyopathy.

Despite marked advances in therapeutics, HIV infection remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. HIV infection is associated with cardiovascular complications including myocardial dysfunction. The description of HIV-associated cardiomyopathy (HIVAC) has evolved over time from a predominantly dilated cardiomyopathy with systolic dysfunction to one of subclinical diastolic dysfunction. Multimodality cardiovascular imaging plays an integral role in our understanding of the etiology and pathogenesis of HIVAC. Such imaging is also essential in the evaluation of individuals with chronic HIV disease who present with cardiac symptoms, especially of heart failure. In the present review, we will highlight current evidence for the role of multimodality imaging in establishing the diagnosis, etiology and pathophysiology of HIVAC as well as guiding treatment and assessing prognosis.