Tạp chí Nghiên cứu Y học

Effects of Phuong Dong Dai Trang tablets on intestinal motility in experimental animals

2024-05-29T01:58:17+00:00

Phuong Dong Dai Trang tablets (PDDT) prepared from several medicinal plants, including Hedychium coronarium, Coix lacryma-jobi, Dioscorea persimilis, Cynara Scolymus L., Paeonia lactiflora, Glochidion eriocarpum, are intended to treat gastrointestinal function disorders. This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of PDDT on intestinal motility in vivo and ex vivo. Swiss mice were divided into four groups that were given orally 0.9% sodium chloride, Duspatalin (mebeverine) 80 mg/kg b.w./day, PDDT 1080 mg/kg b.w./day and PDDT 3240 mg/kg/b.w./day, respectively for 5 days. The activated charcoal movements were measured 20 minutes and 40 minutes after all mice were fed with 0.2 ml of 10% activated charcoal. New Zealand White rabbit’s isolated intestinal segments were divided into two groups with two concentrations of PDDT 1350 mg/100 ml Tyrode’s solution and 2025 mg/100 ml Tyrode’s solution, respectively. The intestine’s contractile frequency and amplitude were recorded. Our results showed that both doses of PDDT reduced the intestinal motility in mice and reduced the contractile frequency and amplitude in the rabbit’s isolated intestinal segments.

Fiber and some micronutrients in the diet of children aged 10 to 14 years old with peptic ulcer disease

2024-06-05T01:37:51+00:00

Peptic ulcer disease is a common gastrointestinal condition where diet is crucial in its prevention and treatment. This prospective cross-sectional study involving 246 children aged 10 - 14 diagnosed with peptic ulcer disease at the National Children’s Hospital was conducted to evaluate the fiber intake and micronutrients in their diet. The study recorded 85.4% of males and 14.6% of females. About two-thirds of the children consumed vegetables daily, while fruits and juices were consumed less frequently. However, the children’s diet did not meet the recommended fiber intake. Deficiencies in calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin A were also noted after dietary analysis. Thus, nutritional counseling is recommended for children with peptic ulcer disease to ensure adequate fiber intake and address micronutrient deficiencies to improve treatment outcomes.

Androgenic effects of alcoholic extract from Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cuss fruits in experimental animals

2024-06-27T06:46:09+00:00

Traditional medicine used the fruits of Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cuss to treat male hypogonadism and male infertility. This study was carried out to investigate the potential androgenic properties of the alcoholic extract of Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cuss fruits (CFE) in peripubertal castrated male rats. Rats were randomly divided into 5 groups and castrated 7 days before being administered 0.5% CMC, testosterone and CFE at 50 mg/kg/day, 150 mg/kg/day and 250 mg/kg/day, respectively, for 10 days. The relative weight of five target androgen-dependent organs (including seminal vesicles (SV), ventral prostate (VP), paired Cowper’s glands (COW), glans penis (GP) and levator ani-bulbocavernosus (LABC) muscle and blood testosterone level were evaluated. Our results showed that CFE at 150 mg/kg/day and 250 mg/kg/day increased the weights of two or more target organs and blood testosterone level. In conclusion, CFE at both doses of 150 mg/kg/day and 250 mg/kg/day has the androgenic activity in male rats.

IgG4-related disease: A systematic review of a rare pediatric condition

2024-06-27T06:43:14+00:00

Immunoglobulin G4 related disease (IgG4-RD) is an immune-mediated fibroinflammatory disorder, marked by tumor-like mass-forming lesions. IgG4-RD is a recently recognized condition and has a few conducted research on the pediatric population. This study aims to provide some insights into the epidemiology, histological findings, diagnosis, and treatment of this condition in children. A systematic literature search was performed on Embase, PubMed, and Web-of-science for case reports and case series of IgG4-RD in children published between 1/2015 and 12/2023. 58 case reports and case series including 62 cases of IgG4-RD in children were identified. The mean age was 12 ± 4.4 years old, of which 54.8% were male. The orbit and central nervous system were two organs predominantly affected. Multi-organ involvement was reported in 14 cases (22.6%). Of 53 patients with serum IgG4 concentration reported, 60.4% of them had elevated serum IgG4 level. 21 patients (33.8%) had fulfilled the definitive diagnosis of the 2020 revised comprehensive diagnostic criteria. Prednisone was the first choice of treatment in 81.8% of the cases. 77.6% of the patients were treated with steroid-sparing DMARDs.

Clinicopathologic characteristics and its association with survival outcomes in gastric cancer after D2 resection followed by S1 and oxaliplatin as adjuvant therapy

2024-06-02T09:56:35+00:00

There is limited data about the clinic-pathological features and the predictors of survival in gastric cancer patients who received adjuvant SOX post-operation in Vietnam. This study aimed to identify the correlation between clinic-pathological features and clinical outcomes for this population. From January 2019 to December 2023, 69 patients aged above 18 years old were diagnosed with gastric cancer and treated at the National Cancer Hospital Vietnam. Clinical findings, histo-pathological parameters and outcomes were reviewed retrospectively. Clinic-pathological characteristics of the study population showed a predominance of males (60.8%), aged above 60 (52.17%), good performance status, undifferentiated tumour (68.12%), antrum cancers (86.96%), and lymph nodes involvement (75.36 %). The estimated 1-year, 2-year, 3-year overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS) were 92.6%, 77.7%, 74.9% and 80.9%, 72.5% and 72.5%, respectively with the median follow-up period of 17 months. A significant prognostic predictor for survival was the presence of lymph node invasion (p = 0.0167) in a univariate analysis. Gastric cancer patients with adverse prognostic factors (node-positive) have a poor prognoses. Adjuvant chemotherapy may be more beneficial for these patients.

Value of Non-invasive Prenatal Test (NIPT) for comprehensive fetal aneuploidies screening

2024-06-23T08:07:15+00:00

The expanded NIPT for screening all fetal chromosomal aneuploidies has been widely used in clinical practice. The study was conducted on 6,104 pregnant women performing this test at Medlatec General Hospital to evaluate the values of NIPT. Sensitivity and negative predictive value reach 100%, and specificity reaches over 99.8%. The positive predictive values for trisomy 21, trisomy 18, trisomy 13, sex chromosome aneuploidies, and rare chromosome aneuploidies are 88.89%, 62.50%; 50.00%; 36.67%, and 0%, respectively. Among rare chromosome aneuploidies, trisomy 2, 4, 9, 15, 16, and 22 are reported to have adverse outcomes, while trisomy 3, 7, 8, and 20 reported no cases. Therefore, the NIPT can potentially predict adverse pregnancy outcomes for rare chromosome aneuploidies.

Preliminary evidence on the diagnostic value of apolipoprotein B and A-I in peripheral artery disease among Vietnamese patients with diabetes

2024-06-17T08:40:26+00:00

To evaluate the value of apolipoprotein A-I, B, and the apoB/AI ratio in the diagnostic of peripheral artery disease among patients with diabetes, we conducted a cross-sectional study of which they underwent clinical evaluation, standardized Doppler ultrasound and blood test. Area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve method was employed to estimate the discriminatory ability of apolipoprotein A-I, apolipoprotein B, and the ApoB/A-I ratio. A total of 159 patients were included. ApoA-I, ApoB, and the ApoB/A-I ratio show statistically significant associations with most clinical and Doppler ultrasound characteristics of PAD. In Pearson’s correlation analysis, apolipoproteins showed a stronger correlation with ABI than the traditional lipid profile. The AUROC was 0.714 (95%CI: 0.635 - 0.794); 0.300 (95%CI: 0.219 – 0.380) and 0.604 (95%CI: 0.516 – 0.692) for apoB/A-I ratio; apoAI and apoB, respectively. The probability apoB/A-I cutoff of 0.666 had a sensitivity of 0.682 and a specificity of 0.662. Apolipoprotein AI and Apolipoprotein B are tests with considerable potential in diagnosing peripheral arterial disease in patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. Further studies are needed with larger sample sizes, and employing imaging diagnostic modalities with higher reliability as the gold standard (MSCT angiography).

Preoperative clinical, subclinical characteristics and nutritional status of gastric cancer patients at Vietnam National Cancer Hospital

2024-08-01T07:29:34+00:00

Gastric cancer ranked fourth for incidence and mortality of all cancers in Vietnam. Clinical symptoms in the early stages are often nonspecific. Patients may have epigastric pain, anorexia or weight loss. Gastroscopy combined with biopsy is a clinical test that helps diagnose gastric cancer. Endoscopic ultrasound, computed tomography of the abdomen and chest are important examinations to assess the stage of the disease. Gastric cancer patients had a high rate of malnutrition, and preoperative nutritional management represents a challenge. Cross-sectional descriptive research was conducted on 88 gastric cancer patients aged over 18 years old to describe preoperative clinical, subclinical characteristics and nutritional status at National Cancer Hospital from January to December 2023. Epigastric pain was the most common clinical symptom with 92%, ulceration type was the most common macroscopic type with 63.9%, poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma was the most common histopathological type with 43.2%, 53.4% of anemic patients. The preoperative malnutrition rate according to albumin, BMI and PG-SGA were 34.1%, 29.5% and 55.7% respectively. Research shows that some preoperative clinical and paraclinical characteristics were very typical of a gastric cancer patient. A very high rate of malnutrition was found in gastric patients before surgery.

Protective and curative effects of Phuong Dong Dai Trang tablets on an experimental model of irritable bowel syndrome

2024-08-14T10:04:49+00:00

Phuong Dong Dai Trang tablet is a mixture of medicinal herbs including Hedychium coronarium, Coix lacryma-jobi, Dioscorea persimilis, Cynara Scolymus L., Paeonia lactiflora, and Glochidion eriocarpum. This study was carried out to evaluate the protective and curative effects of Phuong Dong Dai Trang tablets on mustard oil-induced irritable bowel syndrome model in mice. Swiss mice were divided into six groups that were given orally 0.9% sodium chloride (group 1 - 3), Duspatalin (mebeverine) 80 mg/kg b.w./day (group 4), Phuong Dong Dai Trang tablets 1080 mg/kg b.w./day (group 5) and Phuong Dong Dai Trang tablets 3240 mg/kg/b.w./day (group 6). Mice of group 3 - 6 were induced diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome by mustard oil colonic administration before or after oral treatment. The research indices included the intestinal motility measured by charcoal meal test, colon macroscopic and microscopic scores. Our findings showed that Phuong Dong Dai Trang tablets at 3240 mg/kg b.w./day reduced the intestinal motility and the stool score significantly in mice. Phuong Dong Dai Trang tablets at 1080 mg/kg b.w./day improved the stool score and tended to decrease the intestinal motility in mice.

Factors associated with depression, anxiety, and stress among medical college students

2024-08-19T02:00:19+00:00

Academic pressure, stress, and associated factors are pervasive throughout education. Lately, depression, anxiety, and stress emerged as alarming mental health issues among health science students. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 2,064 students at Can Tho Medical College to determine the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress, along with associated factors. Data were collected online using the DASS-21 questionnaire via Google Forms. The prevalence rates of depression, anxiety, and stress among college students were 52.4%, 73.1%, and 58.8%, respectively. Factors associated with these conditions included gender, body satisfaction, daily smartphone use, primary smartphone activities, satisfaction with academic performance, ease of forming friendships, and presence of close friends. As depression, anxiety, and stress were significant concerns among medical college students, educators should implement screening programs and develop strategies to improve and enhance students’ mental health.

Knowledge and attitude about HPV vaccine among the 4th year female nursing students at Hanoi Medical University

2024-08-23T01:38:38+00:00

Vaccines against HPV have been found to be the most effective known method in preventing cervical cancer. University students and young adults have a high prevalence of genital HPV infection because of their risky sexual behavior, lack of knowledge of HPV infection, HPV vaccination and misconception about susceptibility. A cross-sectional descriptive research was conducted to assess knowledge, attitudes about HPV vaccine among 120 fourth - year female nursing students at Hanoi Medical University in 2023. The majority (75.8%) of students had good knowledge. Students who had never been in a relationship had worse knowledge of HPV vaccine than other students who have been or had been in a relationship. Students with income had better knowledge of HPV vaccine than students with no income (p < 0.05). The majority (66.7%) of students had a positive attitude With Kinh people had more positive attitude towards HPV vaccine (p < 0.05). Research showed that most of the 4th year female nursing students at Hanoi Medical University had good knowledge and a positive attitude towards the HPV vaccine. There was a significant association between knowledge of HPV and factors such as income, and relationship status. There was a significant association between attitudes and ethnicity.

Anxiety level in patients with vital signs monitor at Cardiovascular Center, Hanoi Medical University

2024-08-27T02:03:59+00:00

The Cardiovascular Center at Hanoi Medical University Hospital (HMUH) routinely employs vital signs monitoring systems for patient in severe conditions, post-intervention, and post-cardiothoracic surgery. However, confining patients to their beds often causes significant inconvenience. Additionally, alarm signals from these systems, while crucial for safety, can often be clinically insignificant, leading to patient anxiety. This study aimed to assess the anxiety levels and experiences of patients connected to continuous monitoring systems. Conducted between February and May 2024 at the Cardiovascular Center (HMUH), the cross-sectional study involved 108 patients who had been continuously monitored for at least 24 hours. Data were collected on demographics, reasons for monitoring, alarm frequency, clinical significance of alarms, and anxiety levels using the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS). Results indicated some notable results, continuous monitoring was primarily due to post-cardiovascular interventions (51.9%), a significant majority (96.8%) experienced more than 12 alarms per day, but only 38.7% of these alarms had clinical significance. Anxiety levels were notably high, with 33.4% having anxiety. Major factors contributing to patient discomfort included sound and limitations in personal care. Continuous monitoring significantly impacts patient anxiety and comfort, primarily due to excessive non-significant alarms and restricted mobility.

The efficacy of rituximab in the treatment of refractory chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy in children: A report of three cases from Northern Vietnam

2024-09-10T02:03:31+00:00

Rituximab has been reported to be effective in patients with refractory CIDP, especially those with IgG4 autoantibodies against nodal and paranodal proteins. This study reports the clinical characteristics of three cases diagnosed with refractory CIDP successfully treated with rituximab, although testing for IgG4 antibodies is currently not available in Vietnam. Patients were evaluated using the MRC (Medical Research Council Scale for Muscle Strength) and INCAT (Inflammatory Neuropathy Cause and Treatment) scores before and after rituximab treatment. The duration of the disease before rituximab treatment ranged from 6 to 10 months, with total MRC scores of 16 - 26 points, INCAT scores of 8 - 9 points, and the first response noted after 1 - 4 months. Patients recovered well after a follow-up period of 8 to 12 months without adverse effects, with MRC and INCAT scores improving to 48 - 58 points and 1 - 2 points, respectively. Rituximab may be effective in treating refractory CIDP patients.

ICSI and conventional IVF, which one should be prefered for cases of pre-implantation genetic testing?

2024-09-22T13:31:25+00:00

Ever since its implementation in 1992, the intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) technique has been hailed as a game-changer for enhancing the outcomes of in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment in cases of infertility due to male factors. However, ICSI was later widely applied to cases of infertility not due to male factors without evidence proving its effectiveness. According to the 2022 report of the European IVF Monitoring Council (EIM), the rate of fertilization cases using ICSI method accounts for 70% of IVF cases in European countries, meanwhile the conventional IVF method accounts for only 30% and this rate has remained stable from 2006 until recently. The question is whether cases of infertility not due to male factors that are indicated for pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT) should be fertilized and create embryos using ICSI or conventional IVF to minimize invasiveness and reduce costs while still ensuring the accuracy of the test results.

Life quality after orchiectomy of the bone metastatic prostate cancer patient

2024-10-04T03:24:59+00:00

Prostate cancer (PC) with bone metastasis has many clinical symptoms that very much affected to the patient’s quality of life (QoL). Improving cancer patient’s QoL is a mission for the health care professional workers. The study using questionaires SF-36 and UCLA-PCI-SF- a simple and common methods to evaluate the progress of orchiectomy treatment for bone metastases PC to assess the QoL and prostate-specific functions before and after orchiectomy. Clinical manifestations such as urinary tract, sexual function symptoms, anxiety, bone pain and insomnia affected the HRQoL (health related quality of life) of 53 participated patients were quite high from 69.8% up to 90.6%. After 1 month of orchiectomy, these symptoms were markedly reduced to less than 20%; Anxiety and Insomnia still affected 50.9% and 47.1% of study participant, respectively. HRQoL of 53 PC patients with bone metastasis after orchiectomy was remarkably improved. All domains of SF-36 and UCLA-PCI-SF after orchiectomy were statistically significantly increased with p-value < 0.05, except sexual bother.

Intrathyroidal parathyroid cyst presenting with recurrent kidney stones: A case report

2024-10-02T02:43:54+00:00

Parathyroid cysts are rare and can be the cause of persistent hypercalcemia leading to kidney stones. The aim of this article is to present a case presenting to the hospital with recurrent kidney stones and incidentally found hypercalcemia. From there, we discovered a cystic lesion in the thyroid gland. Combining ultrasound and cyst fluid aspiration to measure the concentration of parathyroid hormone in the fluid helped us confirm that the cystic lesion belonged to the parathyroid gland. The patient underwent surgery to remove the cyst and the blood calcium and parathyroid hormone levels returned to normal after surgery.

Online circular contrast perimetry: The normative database of an Asian population

2024-10-11T02:03:15+00:00

This study compared results of online circular contrast perimetry (OCCP) versus standard automated perimetry (SAP) in clinic, as well as clinic OCCP versus home OCCP in a normal Asian population. Healthy participants underwent a comprehensive ocular examination, retinal nerve fiber layer optical coherence tomography scan, and visual field tests performed in clinic, using OCCP and SAP. Within a week, participants were asked to repeat OCCP field test at home. 58 eyes of 29 healthy volunteers were selected. At the clinic, no difference between testing duration and fixation loss of SAP and OCCP was detected. False Positive (FP) rate of OCCP (3.57%) was significantly higher than SAP (1.07%, p < 0.001) while False Negative (FN) of SAP (1.64%) was significantly higher than those of OCCP (0.48%, p = 0.0225). In clinic OCCP compared to SAP revealed no significant difference in Mean Deviation (MD) (-0.29dB, p = 0.0825), and small differences in Pattern Standard Deviation (PSD) (-0.60dB, p = 0.0001) and Visual Index (VI)/Visual Field Index (VFI) (1.26%, p = 0.0199). Among 29 healthy participants, 15 people with 30 eyes completed home OCCP tests. Comparing in clinic and at-home OCCP, no significant difference between test duration, FP, FN, FL of was found. Small but significant improvements in OCCP MD (0.79dB, p = 0.0008), VI (1.63%, p = 0.0043), but not PSD (-0.45dB, p = 0.1609) were detected. Comparable outcomes between OCCP and SAP in clinic as well as between OCCP in clinic and OCCP at home were found in a normal Asian population.

Evaluating the result of cytoreductive surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer

2024-10-11T01:20:41+00:00

A retrospective study of 61 patients was conducted to evaluate the preliminary results of maximal cytoreductive surgery following neoadjuvant chemotherapy for FIGO stage IIIC-IV ovarian cancer from 2019 to 2023. The patients were diagnosed with FIGO staged IIIC (54.1%) and IV (45.9%), confirmed by preoperative histopathology. Elevated CA 125 level (> 1000 UI/ml) was found in 45 patients (73.8%). The rate of patients achieving optimal surgery was 80.4%. The mean surgery time was 134.1 ± 39.1 minutes, the average blood loss in 1 surgery was 171.2 ± 144.9mL. The drainage volume during the first 3 days was 115.4 ± 38.1mL. The patient started passing gas 3.9 ± 1.0 days after surgery, and started walking after 8.3 ± 2.0 days. The discharged day was 10.1 ± 2.1 days. After surgery, only 1 patient had intestinal obstruction, 2 patients had infection, 2 patients had bleeding, 1 patient had bladder dysfunction, and the remaining patients were stable postoperatively.

Predictive value of platelet-to-albumin ratio for acute kidney injury in patients with decompensated cirrhosis: A double-center study

2024-10-11T01:18:15+00:00

This study aims to evaluate the value of the platelet-to-albumin ratio (PAR) in predicting acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. A descriptive cross-sectional analysis was conducted at multiple centers on 295 patients with decompensated cirrhosis, treated at the Department of Gastroenterology - Can Tho Central General Hospital and the Department of Gastroenterology - Bac Lieu General Hospital from June 2019 to May 2021. The results showed that the average age of the study subjects was 60.0 ± 12.5 years old, with a male/female ratio of 3/2. The average albumin level was relatively low, at 27.18 ± 6.29 g/L. The median platelet count was 73 x 109/L. The median platelet-to-albumin ratio was 2.99. The incidence of acute kidney injury in patients with decompensated cirrhosis was 33.9%. At a cut-off point of the serum platelet-to-albumin ratio ≥ 3.64, the predictive value for the incidence of acute kidney injury in patients with decompensated cirrhosis was recorded with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 96.7% (95%CI: 95% - 98%).

Air pollution and its effect on upper respiratory tract infections: A scoping review from 2010 to 2019

2024-10-11T07:12:09+00:00

Air pollution is a significant global health concern, linked to numerous severe health outcomes, particularly respiratory infections. However, the effects of air pollution components on upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) remain limited. This study aims to synthesize the impact of air pollution on URTI from 2010 to 2019 to provide a basis for effective public health interventions. A total of 23 studies were included in the analysis, with results showing that pollutants such as PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, and O3 were closely linked to URTI, particularly in children. PM10 and PM10 were identified as having the greatest impact. These findings affirm the need for further research to develop effective pollution control measures, thereby reducing the burden of upper respiratory tract infections.

Management of pneumonitis post-concurrent chemoradiation and immunotherapy in patients with advanced lung cancer: Case report and litterature review

2024-10-29T01:52:49+00:00

Immune-related pneumonitis is a rare but serious complication in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with durvalumab after concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT). We encountered a 61-year-old male with stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving concurrent chemoradiotherapy followed by durvalumab maintenance therapy. After 1 cycle of durvalumab treatment, he developed progressive dyspnea, dry cough, and low-grade fever. Chest CT scans revealed diffuse ground-glass opacities in both lungs, indicative of immune-related pneumonitis. Durvalumab was discontinued, and the patient was treated with high-dose corticosteroids and antibiotics. After one month, he fully recovered. Durvalumab was cautiously resumed under close monitoring without recurrence of pneumonitis. Conclusion: Early identification and management of immune-related pneumonitis are essential in NSCLC patients receiving durvalumab. Reintroducing durvalumab after recovery may be safe with vigilant monitoring.