The impact of qualitative [18F]FDG PET/CT in predicting clinical outcomes of post-surgical differentiated thyroid cancer patients with elevated thyroglobulin and negative radioiodine whole-body scan.

Background: [F]FDG PET/CT has been widely used as a diagnostic tool in detection and localization of recurrent non-avid radioiodine lesions in post-operative differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) patients with elevated serum thyroglobulin but negative radioiodine whole-body scan (TENIS) syndrome. The aim of our study was to evaluate the role of [F]FDG PET/CT in prediction on outcomes of these DTC patients.

Methods: Post-operative DTC patients with TENIS syndrome were collected in the department of nuclear medicine, Hospital 108 from 2019 to 2023.

Introducing FDG PET/CT-guided chemoradiotherapy for stage III NSCLC in low- and middle-income countries: preliminary results from the IAEA PERTAIN trial.

Purpose: Patients with stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) continue to have a poor prognosis. It is known that FDG PET/CT improves staging, treatment selection and target volume delineation (TVD), and although its use has grown rapidly, it is still not widely available in LMIC. CRT is often used as sequential treatment, but is known to be more effective when given concurrently.

Erratum to: Antimicrobials: a global alliance for optimizing their rational use in intra-abdominal infections (AGORA).

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13017-016-0089-y.].

The defining a model for antimicrobial stewardship-results from an international cross-sectional survey.

Background: Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASPs) have been promoted to optimize antimicrobial usage and patient outcomes, and to reduce the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant organisms. However, the best strategies for an ASP are not definitively established and are likely to vary based on local culture, policy, and routine clinical practice, and probably limited resources in middle-income countries. The aim of this study is to evaluate structures and resources of antimicrobial stewardship teams (ASTs) in surgical departments from different regions of the world.

Value of Dedicated Head and Neck F-FDG PET/CT Protocol in Detecting Recurrent and Metastatic Lesions in Post-surgical Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma Patients with High Serum Thyroglobulin Level and Negative I Whole-body Scan.

Objectives: In clinical practice, approximately 10-25% of post-surgical differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) patients with high serum thyroglobulin (Tg) and negative I whole-body scan (WBS) have poor prognosis due to recurrent or metastatic lesions after radioactive iodine treatment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the value of F-FDG PET/CT scan in DTC patients with high serum Tg level and negative I WBS.

Methods: 69 post-surgical DTC patients with high serum Tg level and negative post ablation I WBS were enrolled in this study.

Antimicrobials: a global alliance for optimizing their rational use in intra-abdominal infections (AGORA).

Intra-abdominal infections (IAI) are an important cause of morbidity and are frequently associated with poor prognosis, particularly in high-risk patients. The cornerstones in the management of complicated IAIs are timely effective source control with appropriate antimicrobial therapy. Empiric antimicrobial therapy is important in the management of intra-abdominal infections and must be broad enough to cover all likely organisms because inappropriate initial antimicrobial therapy is associated with poor patient outcomes and the development of bacterial resistance.

Hepatitis E Virus Superinfection and Clinical Progression in Hepatitis B Patients.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection may cause acute hepatitis and lead to hepatic failure in developing and developed countries. We studied HEV seroprevalences in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection to understand the consequences of HEV superinfection in a Vietnamese population. This cross-sectional study was conducted from 2012 to 2013 and included 1318 Vietnamese patients with HBV-related liver diseases and 340 healthy controls.

Simple multiplex PCR assays to detect common pathogens and associated genes encoding for acquired extended spectrum betalactamases (ESBL) or carbapenemases from surgical site specimens in Vietnam.

Unlabelled: Surgical site infection (SSI) is common in Vietnamese post-operative patients. It contributes to increased morbidity, mortality, hospitalization time and health care expenditure. Bacterial culture is considered the gold standard procedure to identify SSI pathogens and antibiotic resistant properties; however, it can detect microbes that can readily grow and is time-consuming.

Soluble MICB protein levels and platelet counts during hepatitis B virus infection and response to hepatocellular carcinoma treatment.

Background: The human major histocompatibility complex class I polypeptide-related sequence B (MICB) is a protein that modulates the NK and T cell activation through the NKG2D receptor and is related to several diseases including cancer.

Methods: The study investigated the prognostic role of soluble MICB (sMICB) protein in the progression of HBV-related liver diseases and to HBV-related HCC treatment. The sMICB serum levels were measured in 266 chronic HBV-infected Vietnamese patients and in healthy controls, and correlated with clinical and laboratory parameters and with therapeutic interventions for HBV-related HCC.

Phylogenetic analysis of human parvovirus B19, indicating two subgroups of genotype 1 in Vietnamese patients.

Recently, three distinct genotypes (1, 2 and 3) of human parvovirus B19 (B19) have been identified. However, the characteristics and distribution of B19 genotypes in Vietnam have not been investigated. Phylogenetic analysis using 49 subgenomic NS1/VP1u regions and two coding NS1-VP1/VP2 regions has been applied to investigate the prevalence of B19 genotypes in Vietnamese patients co-infected with Hepatitis B virus.

Serum cytokine profiles associated with clinical presentation in Vietnamese infected with hepatitis B virus.

Background/objectives: An ineffective cytokine response is thought to be one of the reasons for the failure to suppress hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication and to eliminate the virus. We investigated the serum levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, IL-12, and interferon (IFN)-gamma in HBV-infected Vietnamese patients to determine whether they were related to the outcome of HBV infection.

Study Design: Samples from a total of 154 HBV-infected patients with well-characterised clinical profiles and 56 healthy controls were assessed.

Mannose-binding lectin gene polymorphisms and hepatitis B virus infection in Vietnamese patients.

Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is a constituent of the human innate immune system which may play an important role in combating a variety of infectious diseases. We investigated the distribution of MBL gene mutations in a Vietnamese population, using polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequence analysis, and sought associations with the outcome of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. For this purpose we used samples from a total of 123 patients with confirmed, well-defined HBV infections, representing a full spectrum of clinical presentation from acute to chronic to malignant states, as well as from 112 healthy controls.

Clinical evaluation of lentil lectin-reactive alpha-fetoprotein-L3 in histology-proven hepatocellular carcinoma.

Introduction: Serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is a useful marker of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), although the serum AFP concentration is also increased in patients with chronic liver diseases (CLD). The analysis of AFP glycoforms has been known to be of diagnostic value. We applied the lectin-affinity electrophoresis and antibody-affinity blotting techniques to HCC patients in Vietnam in order to better understand the role of lentil lectin-affinity AFP-L3 in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of HCC, and its relationship with the biological characteristics of HCC.