On basis of colour reaction of artersunate with hydroxylamine hydrochloride in alkaline medium and then with ferric chloride solution in acidic medium, a method for assay of artersunate in tablets is proposed. The results of the determination are validated and they show that the method is precise, accurate, linear in studied range and relatively specific. While there is no more specific method, this method may be applied in determination of artersunate in tablets in place of current methods.
Artersunate ; spectrophotometry ; tablets

On basis of the chemical structure of artesunate, 4 identification tests were proposed. They were as follows: Artesunate reacts with a potassium iodide solution to form iodine; artesunate reacts with 5% potassium dichromate solution and 2% sulphuric acid to form acid perchromic; artesunate reacts with cupri-tar-taric solution R to form a red precipitate; artesunat reacts with silver nitrate solution R and dilute ammonia R1 to form a silver mirror. A new method for the determination of artesunate was proposed as alkalimetric titration. The validation of the method was carried out and the results showed that the method was precise, linear, accurate and more specific than the current method.
Artesunate ; Pharmaceutical Preparations

Two current methods for assay of artesunate in our country have been validated and they meet the criteria for accuracy and precision; but do not meet criterion for specificity. Impurities in artesunate interfere with determinations. Result of artesunate determination according to quality specifications in-house increased 5.6% when 1% of succinic acid was presented in the sample to be assayed. If artesunate was assayed according to official quality specifications, result of the determination increased 1.4% when 1% of DHA is presented in the sample to be determined.
Methods ; artesunate ; Pharmaceutical Preparations

Objective: The purpose of this survey was to estimate the prevalence of viral load (VL) suppression and emergence of HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) among individuals receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) for 36 months or longer in Viet Nam using a nationally representative sampling method. Methods: The survey was conducted between May and August 2014 using a two-stage cluster design. Sixteen ART clinics were selected using probability proportional to proxy size sampling, and patients receiving ART for at least 36 months were consecutively enrolled. Epidemiological information and blood specimens were collected for HIV-1 VL and HIVDR testing; HIVDR was defined by the Stanford University HIVDR algorithm. Results: Overall, 365 eligible individuals were recruited with a mean age of 38.2 years; 68.4% were men. The mean time on ART was 75.5 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 69.0–81.9 months), and 93.7% of the patients were receiving non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-based regimens. Of the 365 individuals, 345 (94.7%, 95% CI: 64.1–99.4%) had VL below 1000 copies/mL and 19 (4.6%, 95% CI: 2.8-–7.5) had HIVDR mutations. Discussion Our nationally representative survey found a high level of VL suppression and a low prevalence of HIVDR among individuals who received ART for at least 36 months in Viet Nam. Continued surveillance for HIVDR is important for evaluating and improving HIV programs.