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This article attends to the emotional resonances of ‘stuckedness’ and (in)voluntary return as experienced by Nicaraguan migrants stranded in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic. Feeling both figuratively and literally trapped in a context of cascading lockdowns, border closures, and travel restrictions, many viewed Spain’s Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) programme as offering a choice to ‘freely’ depart Spain – a way to simultaneously leave their distressing circumstances behind while returning to the comfort of ‘home’ and family. Building on recent literature that challenges the basis for participation in such programmes as founded on free, voluntary, and individual decisions, this article contends that, for some, the act of ‘choosing’ to return generates a profound and unexpected emotional response. In the case of a Nicaraguan migrant woman explored in detail here, the execution of said return activates feelings of relief, euphoria, and hope, as well as a renewed sense of self. Nevertheless, her response is temporally and geographically contingent, as returning to Nicaragua via AVRR does not necessarily diminish her desire to remigrate or render her less ‘stuck’. The empirical material that informs this paper was collected through digital ethnography and in-person encounters in both Spain and Nicaragua between 2020 and 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Aims Methods Conclusion Pilot studies indicate that immunoadsorption with subsequent IgG substitution (IA/IgG) induces beneficial effects in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and heart failure. This placebo‐controlled study investigates whether IA/IgG treatment enhances left ventricular (LV) systolic function as compared to a control group receiving pseudo‐treatment.This multicentre, randomized, double‐blind, parallel‐group trial aims to include 200 patients with heart failure due to DCM (LV ejection fraction [LVEF] <40%) on optimized guideline‐directed heart failure medication. Participants are randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to IA/IgG using protein‐A columns, or to pseudo‐immunoadsorption followed by an intravenous infusion without IgG. Follow‐up visits take place by telephone after 1 and 3 months and at the study centres after 6, 12 and 24 months. The primary efficacy endpoint is the change in LVEF from baseline to 6 months determined by contrast echocardiography, analysed at a core lab. In addition, LV end‐diastolic and end‐systolic volumes will be analysed as secondary endpoints over the entire study period to assess whether IA/IgG affects LV remodelling. As main secondary outcome, a composite of all‐cause death, cardiac resuscitation, hospitalization for heart failure, and need for cardiac surgery to improve myocardial pump function will be evaluated after 24 months. In addition, exploratory outcomes as well as safety endpoints related to the treatment will be assessed throughout the whole study period.IASO‐DCM is a randomized study which will provide comprehensive insights into the effects of immunoadsorption with subsequent IgG substitution in patients with DCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]