Association between underlying health conditions and long COVID among non-hospitalized and hospitalized individuals as modified by health literacy: A multi-center study.

Objectives: We investigated the effect modification of health literacy (HL) in ameliorating the negative impact of underlying health conditions (UHC) on long COVID among non-hospitalized and hospitalized survivors.

Study Design: An online cross-sectional study was conducted in Vietnam from December 2021 to October 2022.

Methods: A sample of 4507 participants recruited from 18 hospitals and health centers were those aged 18 or older, had contracted COVID-19 for at least 28 days, and were not in the acute phase of reinfection.

Fear and Impact of COVID-19 Among Post-Infected Adults: Types and Associations with Quality of Life and Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms.

Survivors of COVID-19 are susceptible to diminished health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and adverse psychological health, which may be exacerbated by their experiences of fear and the impact of the pandemic itself. This study aims to identify distinct fear and impact patterns related to the COVID-19 pandemic among survivors through latent profile analysis (LPA) and examine the associations of fear and impact patterns with post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and HRQoL. A total of 5,890 Vietnamese COVID-19 survivors completed the COVID-19 Impact Battery- Disability Scale (CIB-D), the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCoV-19 S), the Impact of Event Scale-Revised for PTSS, and the 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) for HRQoL.

Urine-Xpert Ultra for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in people living with HIV: a prospective, multicentre, diagnostic accuracy study.

Background: Diagnostic delays for tuberculosis are common, with high resultant mortality. Urine-Xpert Ultra (Cepheid) could improve time to diagnosis of tuberculosis disease and rifampicin resistance. We previously reported on lot-to-lot variation of the Fujifilm SILVAMP TB LAM.

A prospective evaluation of the diagnostic accuracy of the point-of-care VISITECT CD4 Advanced Disease test in seven countries.

Background: CD4 measurement is pivotal in the management of advanced HIV disease. VISITECT® CD4 Advanced Disease (AccuBio Limited, Alva, UK; VISITECT) is an instrument-free, point-of-care, semi-quantitative test allowing visual identification of a CD4 ≤200 cells/µl, or >200 cells/µl from finger-prick or venous blood.

Methods: As part of a diagnostic accuracy study of FUJIFILM SILVAMP TB LAM (clinicaltrials.

Prospective multicentre accuracy evaluation of the FUJIFILM SILVAMP TB LAM test for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in people living with HIV demonstrates lot-to-lot variability.

There is an urgent need for rapid, non-sputum point-of-care diagnostics to detect tuberculosis. This prospective trial in seven high tuberculosis burden countries evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of the point-of-care urine-based lipoarabinomannan assay FUJIFILM SILVAMP TB LAM (FujiLAM) among inpatients and outpatients living with HIV. Diagnostic performance of FujiLAM was assessed against a mycobacterial reference standard (sputum culture, blood culture, and Xpert Ultra from urine and sputum at enrollment, and additional sputum culture ≤7 days from enrollment), an extended mycobacterial reference standard (eMRS), and a composite reference standard including clinical evaluation.

Antibiotic prescribing practices of medical doctors in a resource-limited setting and the influence of individual perceptions and stewardship support: a survey in three tertiary hospitals in Vietnam.

Objectives: To understand antibiotic prescribing and influencing factors to inform antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) interventions to reduce unwanted consequences of antibiotic use in hospitals in Vietnam, a lower-middle-income country in Asia.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of doctors at three tertiary hospitals using non-probability convenience sampling, through a paper-based (Hospitals 1 and 2) or electronic (Hospital 3) survey. Questions included items on perceptions regarding antibiotic resistance and AMS, prescribing practices, knowledge, demographics and training.

Sex Differences in Clustering Unhealthy Lifestyles Among Survivors of COVID-19: Latent Class Analysis.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the significance of adopting healthy lifestyles to mitigate the risk of severe outcomes and long-term consequences.

Objective: This study focuses on assessing the prevalence and clustering of 5 unhealthy lifestyle behaviors among Vietnamese adults after recovering from COVID-19, with a specific emphasis on sex differences.

Methods: The cross-sectional data of 5890 survivors of COVID-19 in Vietnam were analyzed from December 2021 to October 2022.

Impact of long COVID-19 on posttraumatic stress disorder as modified by health literacy: an observational study in Vietnam.

Background: The prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has increased, particularly among individuals who have recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Health literacy is considered a "social vaccine" that helps people respond effectively to the pandemic. We aimed to investigate the association between long COVID-19 and PTSD, and to examine the modifying role of health literacy in this association.

Barriers and enablers to blood culture sampling in Indonesia, Thailand and Viet Nam: a Theoretical Domains Framework-based survey.

Objective: Blood culture (BC) sampling is recommended for all suspected sepsis patients prior to antibiotic administration. We examine barriers and enablers to BC sampling in three Southeast Asian countries.

Design: A Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF)-based survey, comprising a case scenario of a patient presenting with community-acquired sepsis and all 14 TDF domains of barriers/enablers to BC sampling.

Gender, homelessness, hospitalization and methamphetamine use fuel depression among people who inject drugs: implications for innovative prevention and care strategies.

Background: The co-occurrence of substance use disorder and mental disorder, known as dual diagnosis, has a distressingly high prevalence among individuals grappling with either of these conditions. Mood disorders, especially depression, constitute a substantial burden for People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) and a significant public health concern in Vietnam. Identifying risk factors for depression in PWID is imperative for the development of targeted interventions.

HCV RNA Quantification by a Domestic Commercial Assay: A Case Study among People Who Inject Drugs in Vietnam.

The desired performance of nucleic acid testing (NAT) may vary if used for disease diagnosis or for the evaluation of the therapeutic efficacy of a treatment, although in most cases, the same assay is used. However, these tests may not be affordable in many situations including in low/middle income countries that in response have developed domestic assays. Given the example of HCV NAT among people who inject drugs in Vietnam, we aimed at evaluating a domestic assay versus an FDA- and CE-approved assay.

Single-incision laparoscopic surgery transabdominal preperitoneal approach for recurrent inguinal hernia: A case series of long-term follow-up.

Introduction And Importance: Laparoscopic surgery is recommended to treat recurrent inguinal hernia (IH). Single-incision laparoscopic surgery transabdominal pre-peritoneal (SILS-TAPP) has been an option for IH repair but few studies on the application of this method for recurrent IH was conducted. We aimed to report our experience of SILS-TAPP for recurrent IH and the long-term outcomes of this technique.

A community-based strategy to eliminate hepatitis C among people who inject drugs in Vietnam.

Background: Towards hepatitis C elimination among people who inject drugs (PWID), we assessed the effectiveness of a strategy consisting of a community-based respondent-driven sampling (RDS) as wide screening, a simplified and integrated hospital-based care, and prevention of reinfection supported by community-based organisations (CBO), in Hai Phong, Vietnam.

Methods: Adults who injected heroin were enrolled in a RDS survey implemented in two CBO premises. Rapid HIV and HCV tests were done on site, and blood was taken for HCV RNA testing.

Development of a prediction model for emergency medical service witnessed traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A multicenter cohort study.

Background/purpose: To develop a prediction model for emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to identify trauma patients at high risk of deterioration to emergency medical service (EMS)-witnessed traumatic cardiac arrest (TCA) on the scene or en route.

Methods: We developed a prediction model using the classical cross-validation method from the Pan-Asia Trauma Outcomes Study (PATOS) database from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2020. Eligible patients aged ≥18 years were transported to the hospital by the EMS.

Prognostic significance of the angiopoietin-2 for early prediction of septic shock in severe sepsis patients.

Aim: The current study investigated the plasma levels of angiopoietin-1/-2 and their association with clinical outcomes of sepsis.

Methods: Angiopoietin-1 and -2 levels were quantified in plasma from 105 patients with severe sepsis by ELISA.

Results: Angiopoietin-2 levels elevated according to the severity of sepsis progression.

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.

Impact of Infection Control on Prevalence of Surgical Site Infections in a Large Tertiary Care Hospital in Haiphong City.

Few point prevalence surveys (PPS) have been conducted in Vietnam on Surgical Site Infections (SSI) or antimicrobial use in surgery. The objective of this study was to evaluate the PPSs of SSI before and after implementation of antibiotic stewardship programs (ASP) and infection control (IC) in a Vietnamese tertiary care hospital. ASP and IC practices were implemented in operating rooms and the orthopedic department, including antibiotic training, skin preparation, hand hygiene, gloves and sterile instruments, and SSIs risk factors.

Association between recent methamphetamine use, antiretroviral therapy and HIV viral load; a mediation analysis from a cohort of HIV positive persons who inject drugs in Hai Phong, Vietnam.

Background: There has been a significant increase in methamphetamine use among persons who use drugs in Vietnam in the last 5-10 years. We examined the degree to which adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) mediates the relationship between recent methamphetamine use and unsuppressed HIV viral load among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Hai Phong, Vietnam.

Methods: We recruited PWID from October 2016-October 2018 and enrolled HIV positive PWID into a cohort, with up to three years of total follow-up.

Long-Term Persistence of Mitochondrial DNA Instability among HCV-Cured People Who Inject Drugs.

People who inject drugs (PWID) are a population exposed to many genotoxicants and with a high prevalence of HCV infection. Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) regimens are now widely used to treat chronic HCV infection. Although side effects to treatment are currently rare, the long-term effects such as suspicions of de novo hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) occurrence or HCC recurrence and cardiac defects are still up for debate.

"Maintaining HIV and HCV prevention and care for people who inject drugs despite COVID-19 in Hai Phong, Vietnam".

Background: After the emergence of COVID-19, a one-month strict lockdown was imposed in April 2020 in Vietnam, followed by lighter social distancing restrictions over the year. We investigated whether those measures affected people who inject drugs (PWID) in terms of risk behaviors for HIV and HCV and access to prevention and care in the city of Haiphong, a historic hotspot for HIV and drug use.

Methodology: We carried out a 'before-after' study from 2019 to 2020 using respondent-driven sampling method to enroll PWID.

Mental Disorders Are Associated With Leukocytes Telomere Shortening Among People Who Inject Drugs.

Premature biological aging, assessed by shorter telomere length (TL) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) alterations, has been reported among people with major depressive disorders or psychotic disorders. However, these markers have never been assessed together among people who inject drugs (PWIDs), although mental disorders are highly prevalent in this population, which, in addition, is subject to other aggravating exposures. Diagnosis of mental disorders was performed by a psychiatrist using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview test among active PWIDs in Haiphong, Vietnam.

Alarming Tuberculosis Rate Among People Who Inject Drugs in Vietnam.

Background: The tuberculosis (TB) epidemic is not homogeneous in the general population but presents high-risk groups. People who inject drugs (PWID) are such a group. However, TB among PWID remains largely undocumented.