A retrospective analysis of the haemodynamic and metabolic effects of fluid resuscitation in Vietnamese adults with severe falciparum malaria.

Background: Optimising the fluid resuscitation of patients with severe malaria is a simple and potentially cost-effective intervention. Current WHO guidelines recommend central venous pressure (CVP) guided, crystalloid based, resuscitation in adults.

Methods: Prospectively collected haemodynamic data from intervention trials in Vietnamese adults with severe malaria were analysed retrospectively to assess the responses to fluid resuscitation.

Dexamethasone in Vietnamese adolescents and adults with bacterial meningitis.

Background: It is uncertain whether all adults with bacterial meningitis benefit from treatment with adjunctive dexamethasone.

Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of dexamethasone in 435 patients over the age of 14 years who had suspected bacterial meningitis. The goal was to determine whether dexamethasone reduced the risk of death at 1 month and the risk of death or disability at 6 months.