Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the first laparoscopic surgery that was performed at Cho Ray hospital in September 1992. In 2005, Quang Tri general hospital has performed successfully the first case of laparoscopic appendectomy. Objectives: To access the preliminary results of application on endoscopic surgery in Quang Tri general hospital. Subjects and method: A prospective study was conducted on 140 patients with laparoscopic surgery or retroperitoneal surgery, was performed in Quang Tri general hospital from September, 2005 to April, 2006. Results:Among 140 patients was operated, there was only one case of postoperative intestinal obstructive complication (accounted for 0.7%), no case of death. Operative aged was between 11 and 70 years old. The average surgical time was 65 minutes for cholecystectomy, 35 minutes for appendectomy, 85 minutes for ureterolithotomy, 80 minutes for gynecological diseases. 2 cases of cholecystectomy and appendectomy changed open surgery. Conclusion: Laparoscopic surgery is a safe and effective method. It can be developed in provincial hospitals. Quang Tri general hospital has successful preliminary developed the new technique.
Laparoscopy ;

OBJECTIVE Currently discussing the clinical treatment of pulmonary fibrosis commonly used drugs astragalus main active ingredient astragalosideⅣ(ASTⅣ)in vitro after transforming growth factor-β1 induced lung adenocarcinoma A549 epithelial cells after epithelial cell interstitial Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition(EMT). METHODS The effect of astragalosideIV on the proliferation of A549 cells was detected by MTT assay for the first time.No significant effect of astragaloside on the prolifera-tion of A549 cells was found in the range of 1.25-20 μmol/L. A549 cells in vitro were divided into 5 groups: normal group, control group, low, medium and high experimental groups, which were treated for 72 hours,and the morphological changes of cells in each group were observed by light microscope. Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) and Western blotting were performed. Detection of gene and protein expression levels. RESULTS The results of real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR showed that the quantitative analysis of high-dose astragalosideⅣin the experimental group was lower than that of the control group in the α-SMA analysis,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).The dose of AstragalosideⅣ in the experimental group was higher than that of the control group in the E-Cad analysis,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).Western Blot results showed that the expression of α-SMA antibody in the high-dose and low-dose experimental group was lower than that in the control group, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The high-dose experimental group had a significantly higher expression of E-Cad antibody than the control group, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.01). CONCLUSION This study uses A549 epithelial cells as a model, A549 cells were modeled and confirmed that Astragaloside can effectively inhibit TGF-β1-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT)and provide a new basis for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis.

Background: Situation of extremity injury caused by traffic accidents and occupational accidents are increasing in Vietnam. Therefore, the prevention and fight against these accidents are one of the key objectives to reduce the burden on the families of victims as well as for society. Objectives: To outline situation of extremity injury patients caused by traffic accident, treated in Viet Duc hospital from 2000-2004. Subjects and method: A retrospective study was conducted on 19.845 patients (14.562 males, 5.283 females, aged from 1-97 years old). The subjects were divided into 3 main groups: alone upper extremity injury, alone lower extremity injury and multiple fractures. Results: Extremity injury was common seen in people of working age (78.1%), men more than women (2.76/1 ratio), left foot more than right foot and it was common been in multiple fracture situation due to complex mechanisms of injury (50.3%), alone extremity injury (49.7%). The lower extremity injury was more common seen than upper extremity injury. Open fracture injury (27.3%), in which open fractures in lower extremity were more common seen. Open fractures in both 2 leg bones was the most common seen, accounted for 57.4% among total of open fractures. Amputation accounted for 8.3% among all case of open fractures and 2.3% among all case of extremity injuries. Conclusion: Extremity injury (lower extremity and upper extremity) caused by traffic accidents is common seen. The average, there are 3 emergency surgeries due to open fracture injury were performed daily in Viet Duc hospital per a total of about 11 traumatic emergency surgeries.
Fractures ; Bone ; Arm Injuries ; Leg Injuries ; Accidents ; Traffic ;

Background: Shigella-induced diarrhea has been considered a major health problem leading to high morbidity and mortality. This disease can lead to dire consequences; however, the true burden of the disease, including the costs and sequalae associated with shigellosis is not yet known. Objectives: (1) To describe the health seeking behavior and the way of payment of population when suffering Shigella; (2) To identify and analyze the direct household costs associated with the treatment of diarrhea due to Shigella. Subjects and method: 290 patients of all ages with positive Shigella diarrhea admitted to public health facilities in Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa province in the period from August 2002 to January 2004 were included in the study. The subjects were divided into three age groups, the first 0-5, second 5-18 and the last one was over 18 years old. Patients and their relatives were interviewed at three stages - day 7, day 14 and day 90 - to obtain all the required information. Results: 134 of 290 patients (47%) paid for using the other health care services before admission to the study\u2019s facilities. The average direct cost per episode for the patients at group aged 0-5 was 129,000 VND, group aged 6-18 was 59,267 VND and over 18 years old was 173,531 VND; it was 131.960 VND for three groups. Comparison with the average household expenditure for health care, it was higher in the poorer group and it was lower three times than the richest group. The average direct medical cost per episode was higher the average direct non-medical cost per episode for all groups. Conclusions: The average direct cost per episode of Shigellosis treatment was rather high especially the average direct cost for the treatment at the health facility. It was also high compared with the average expenditure for health per capita so that it becomes large economic burden for households.
Direct cost ; Shigella ; treatment

Purpose: Laparoscopic surgery is considered a promising approach for Hartmann reversal but is also a complicated major surgical procedure. We conducted a retrospective analysis at a city hospital in Vietnam to evaluate the treatment technique and outcomes of laparoscopic Hartmann reversal (LHR). Methods: A colorectal surgery database in 5 years between 2015 and 2019 (1,175 cases in total) was retrieved to collect 35 consecutive patients undergoing LHR. Results: The patients had a median age of 61 years old. The median operative time was 185 minutes. All the procedures were first attempted laparoscopically with a conversion rate of 20.0% (7 of 35 cases). There was no intraoperative complication. Postoperative mortality and morbidity were 0 and 11.4% (2 medical, 1 deep surgical site infection, and 1 anastomotic leak required reoperation) respectively. The median time to first bowel activity was 2.8 days and median length of hospital stay was 8 days. Conclusion When performed by skilled surgeons, LHR is a feasible and safe operation with acceptable morbidity rate.

Conjoined twins are rare, and each set of conjoined twins has a unique conjoined anatomy. It is necessary to perform separation to increase the chance of patient survival. Tissue expansion is an advanced technique for providing sufficient soft tissue and skin for wound closure. We report the successful application of rapid tissue expansion in 10-month-old xipho-omphalopagus conjoined twins in Vietnam. A tissue expander was placed on the anterior body between the sternum and umbilicus with a baseline of 70 mL sterile saline (0.9% NaCl). The first injection into the tissue expander began on the 6th day after expander insertion, and injections continued every 2 days with approximately 30–70 mL per injection according to the expansion of the skin. The expander reached 335 mL after six injections and within 10 days. In order to prepare for surgical separation, expansion was completed on the 15th day after insertion. The expanded skin area was estimated to be 180 cm2, which was sufficient to cover both patients’ skin deficiencies. The twins presented for surgical separation 6 days following the completion of tissue expansion. Both babies were discharged in good health 1 month after separation.

Conjoined twins are rare, and each set of conjoined twins has a unique conjoined anatomy. It is necessary to perform separation to increase the chance of patient survival. Tissue expansion is an advanced technique for providing sufficient soft tissue and skin for wound closure. We report the successful application of rapid tissue expansion in 10-month-old xipho-omphalopagus conjoined twins in Vietnam. A tissue expander was placed on the anterior body between the sternum and umbilicus with a baseline of 70 mL sterile saline (0.9% NaCl). The first injection into the tissue expander began on the 6th day after expander insertion, and injections continued every 2 days with approximately 30–70 mL per injection according to the expansion of the skin. The expander reached 335 mL after six injections and within 10 days. In order to prepare for surgical separation, expansion was completed on the 15th day after insertion. The expanded skin area was estimated to be 180 cm2, which was sufficient to cover both patients’ skin deficiencies. The twins presented for surgical separation 6 days following the completion of tissue expansion. Both babies were discharged in good health 1 month after separation.

The first study on chemical constituents and biological activities of Clausena lansium (Lour.) Skeels (Rutaceae) growing in Vietnam has been done. Phytochemical investigation of n-hexane extract led to the isolation of five compounds: dihydroindicolactone (1), 8-geranyloxy psoralen (2), imperatorin (3), heraclenol (4) and indicolactone (5), in which this is the first report on the presence of dihydroindicolactone (1). Their structures were elucidated based on LC/MS/NMR hyphenated techniques as well as comparison with those of literature data. The n-hexane extract and its subfractions, ethanol 95% extract and several isolated compounds were evaluated for antifungal activity.
Clausena* ; Ethanol ; Ficusin ; Vietnam

Objective: To document the evolution and optimization of the Zika virus (ZIKV) disease surveillance system in southern Viet Nam in 2016 and to describe the characteristics of the identified ZIKV-positive cases. Methods: We established a sentinel surveillance system to monitor ZIKV transmission in eight sites in eight provinces and expanded the system to 71 sites in 20 provinces in southern Viet Nam in 2016. Blood and urine samples from patients who met the case definition at the sentinel sites were tested for ZIKV using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction at the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City (PI-HCMC). We conducted descriptive analysis and mapped the ZIKV-positive cases. Results: In 2016, 2190 specimens from 20 provinces in southern Viet Nam were tested for ZIKV at PI-HCMC; 626 (28.6%), 484 (22.1%), 35 (1.6%) and 1045 (47.7%) tests were conducted in the first, second, third and fourth quarters of the year, respectively. Of these tested specimens, 214 (9.8%) were ZIKV positive with 212 (99.1%) identified in the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter, the highest positivity rate was those in age groups 30–39 years (30.0%) and 40–59 years (31.6%). Of the 214 ZIKV-positive patients, 210 (98.1%) presented with rash, 194 (90.7%) with fever, 149 (69.6%) with muscle pain, 123 (57.5%) with joint pain and 66 (30.8%) with conjunctivitis. Discussion The surveillance system for ZIKV disease underwent several phases of optimization in 2016, guided by the most up-to-date local data. Here we demonstrate an adaptable surveillance system that detected ZIKV-positive cases in southern Viet Nam.

This article describes Viet Nam Ministry of Health’s (VMoH) activities to prepare for and respond to the threat Zika virus (ZIKV), including the adaptation of existing surveillance systems to encompass ZIKV surveillance.