Determinants of antibiotic prescribing in primary care in Vietnam: a qualitative study using the Theoretical Domains Framework.

Background: To formulate effective strategies for antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) in primary care, it is crucial to gain a thorough understanding of factors influencing prescribers' behavior within the context. This qualitative study utilizes the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to uncover these influential factors.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative study using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with primary care workers in two provinces in rural Vietnam.

Review of antibiotic prescriptions as part of antimicrobial stewardship programmes: results from a pilot implementation at two provincial-level hospitals in Viet Nam.

Objectives: To investigate the feasibility of retrospective prescription-based review and to describe the antibiotic prescribing patterns to provide information for an antimicrobial stewardship programme in Viet Nam.

Methods: This study was conducted in two provincial-level hospitals between February and April 2020. Reviews were done by a clinical team consisting of leaders/senior doctors of each ward to assess the optimal level (optimal/adequate/suboptimal/inadequate/not assessable) of antibiotic prescriptions.

Improving antimicrobial use through antimicrobial stewardship in a lower-middle income setting: a mixed-methods study in a network of acute-care hospitals in Viet Nam.

Objectives: This study aimed to analyse the current state of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) in hospitals in Viet Nam, a lower-middle income country (LMIC), to identify factors determining success in AMS implementation and associated challenges to inform planning and design of future programmes.

Methods: We conducted a mixed-methods study in seven acute-care hospitals in the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance network in Viet Nam. Data collection included 7 focus group discussions, 40 in-depth interviews and a self-administered quantitative survey of staff on AMR and AMS programmes.

Assessing feasibility of establishing antimicrobial stewardship programmes in two provincial-level hospitals in Vietnam: an implementation research study.

Objectives: To investigate the feasibility of establishing hospital-based antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programmes comprising action-planning, educational interventions and data feedback in two provincial-level hospitals in Viet Nam.

Design And Setting: This was an implementation research using participatory action process and existing resources from the Duke Antimicrobial Stewardship Outreach Network with local adjustments. A national stakeholder meeting and Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) analysis were conducted to identify gaps and potential interventions.

Implementation of C-reactive protein point of care testing to improve antibiotic targeting in respiratory illness in Vietnamese primary care (ICAT): a study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: C-reactive protein (CRP), a biomarker of infection, has been used widely in high-income settings to guide antibiotic treatment in patients presenting with respiratory illnesses in primary care. Recent trials in low- and middle-income countries showed that CRP testing could safely reduce antibiotic use in patients with non-severe acute respiratory infections (ARIs) and fever in primary care. The studies, however, were conducted in a research-oriented context, with research staff closely monitoring healthcare behaviour thus potentially influencing healthcare workers' prescribing practices.

A randomised controlled trial of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDITOF-MS) versus conventional microbiological methods for identifying pathogens: Impact on optimal antimicrobial therapy of invasive bacterial and fungal infections in Vietnam.

Objectives: We assessed the impact of MALDITOF-MS on the timeliness of optimal antimicrobial therapy through a parallel-arm randomised controlled trial in two hospitals in Vietnam.

Methods: We recruited patients with a pathogen (bacterial or fungal) cultured from a normally sterile sample. Samples were randomly assigned (1:1) to identification by MALDITOF-MS or conventional diagnostics.