OBJECTIVESIn patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), non-adherence remains challenging to achieve optimal disease control. Our study aimed to determine the impact of ...pharmacist-led educational interventions on COPD management, focusing mainly on medication adherence.METHODSWe conducted a 1-month open-labeled, randomized, controlled study at Ba Ria Hospital, Vietnam. COPD outpatients were randomly assigned to the intervention group or control group. Pharmacist-delivered education emphasized medication adherence, disease, and medication knowledge. The primary outcome was the between-group difference in medication adherence after the intervention, as assessed by the general medication adherence scale (GMAS).RESULTSOf 181 recruited patients, 180 completed the follow-up. After the intervention, the results indicated a significant improvement in medication adherence rate between the two groups (90.1% vs. 66.3%, p < 0.001). Patient behavior was the most common barrier to non-adherence but was effectively reduced at the endpoint. The Modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) scale of dyspnea and inhalation technique also improved significantly in intervention patients.CONCLUSIONSPharmacist intervention can considerably improve medication adherence and knowledge of COPD patients.PRACTICE IMPLICATIONSThis study promotes the value of clinical pharmacists in patient education to achieve better adherence and enhance population health, especially in resource-limited nations like Vietnam.
The prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in free-ranging chickens (Gallus domesticus) is a good indicator of the prevalence of the parasite's oocysts in soil because chicken feed from the ground. The ...prevalence of T. gondii in free-range chickens from Ghana, Indonesia, Italy, Poland, and Vietnam was determined using the modified agglutination test (MAT). Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 41 (64%) of 64 chickens from Ghana, 24 (24.4%) of 98 chickens from Indonesia, 10 (12.5%) of 80 chickens from Italy, 6 (30%) of 20 chickens from Poland, and 81 (24.2%) of 330 chickens from Vietnam. Hearts and brains of chickens were bioassayed for T. gondii. Viable T. gondii was isolated from 2 chickens from Ghana, 1 chicken from Indonesia, 3 chickens from Italy, 2 chickens from Poland, and 1 chicken from Vietnam. Toxoplasma gondii isolates from 9 chickens were genotyped using 10 PCR-RFLP markers including SAG1, SAG2, SAG3, BTUB, GRA6, c22-8, c29-2, L358, PK1, and Apico. A total of 7 genotypes was identified; the 3 isolates from chickens from Italy were clonal type II, and the others were nonclonal. This is the first report of genetic characterization of T. gondii isolates from animals from these countries.
We studied the development and persistence of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 ancestral strain, and Delta and Omicron (BA.1 and BA.2) variants in Vietnamese healthcare workers (HCWs) up to ...15 weeks after booster vaccination. We included 47 HCWs, including group 1 (G1, N = 21) and group 2 (G2; N = 26) without and with breakthrough Delta variant infection before booster immunization, respectively). The study participants had completed primary immunization with ChAdOx1-S and booster vaccination with BNT162b2. Neutralizing antibodies were measured using a surrogate virus neutralization assay. Of the 21 study participants in G1, neutralizing antibodies against ancestral strain, Delta variant, BA.1, and BA.2 were (almost) abolished at month 8 after the second dose, but all had detectable neutralizing antibodies to the study viruses at week 2 post booster dose. Of the 26 study participants in G2, neutralizing antibody levels to BA.1 and BA.2 were significantly higher than those to the corresponding viruses measured at week 2 post breakthrough infection and before the booster dose. At week 15 post booster vaccination, neutralizing antibodies to BA.1 and BA.2 dropped significantly, with more profound changes observed in those without breakthrough Delta variant infection. Booster vaccination enhanced neutralizing activities against ancestral strain and Delta variant compared with those induced by primary vaccination. These responses were maintained at high levels for at least 15 weeks. Our findings emphasize the importance of the first booster dose in producing cross-neutralizing antibodies against Omicron variant. A second booster to maintain long-term vaccine effectiveness against the currently circulating variants merits further research.
The main purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of
Neospora caninum and bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) in some dairy herds in Southern Vietnam, and to ascertain whether there ...were differences in seroprevalences between herds with imported and locally bred cows. Serum samples collected on five state farms and 97 smallholder herds were analysed for the presence of antibodies to
N. caninum and BVDV. All BVDV antibody-negative sera were further tested by antigen-ELISA in order to identify persistently infected individuals. The
N. caninum prevalence varied between 16% and 53% in the state herds, and was higher in the four herds that had imported cows than in the herd that only had locally bred cows. Nineteen percent of the samples collected on smallholder farms, which all had only locally bred cows, had antibodies to
N. caninum. The BVDV seroprevalence varied between 58% and 93% on the state farms. In smallholder herds, the prevalence of BVDV among the sampled cows was 18% and even lower on the state farms. Despite the high seroprevalence for BVDV in the state herds, no persistently BVDV infected cows were found. Given the high prevalence for
Neospora and BVDV among herds with imported cows, it seems advisable to test for both infections before cattle are imported into the country.
We analyzed 1,303 SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequences from Vietnam, and found the Alpha and Delta variants were responsible for a large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19 in 2021. The Delta variant was ...confined to the AY.57 lineage and caused >1.7 million infections and >32,000 deaths. Viral transmission was strongly affected by nonpharmaceutical interventions.
Adinandra bockiana
E. Pritz. ex Diels is a potential plant of the
Adinandra
genus that contains bioactive. This study presents the results of assembly and annotation of the chloroplast (cp) genome of
...A. bockiana
, a comparison of it with
Adinandra
cp genomes of several other species, and proposed candidate DNA barcoding from the cp genome. The
A. bockiana
cp genome was reconstructed by raw reads from total DNA, assembling reads (each read is 150 bp in length) into contigs, and then the contigs were assembled again to sequence the complete cp genome. The
A. bockiana
cp genome is 156,284 bp in length and consists of a large single-copy (LSC) region of 85,693 bp, a small single-copy (SSC) region of 18,411 bp, a pair of inverted repeats (IRa and IRb) of 26,090 bp each, 129 functional genes, 51 SSRs, and other 70 repeat structures. The functional genes of the
A. bockiana
cp genome contain 84 protein-coding genes, 37 transfer RNA genes, and eight ribosomal RNA genes. A comparative analysis of the
A. bockiana
cp genome with the rest of the public
Adinandra
genomes showed that the number of genes and their structure were highly conserved in the surveyed group. Based on complete cp genomes and
matK
and
trnL
sequences of some species of the
Adinandra
and other genera, molecular phylogenetic trees were established which show the genetic relationships of the species belonging to the Pentaphylacaceae family. Among the chloroplast genes of
A. bockiana
, the
matK
and
trnL
genes are better candidates for phylogenetic analysis.
This study addresses the underexplored area of EFSs (EFS) tailored for business applications, with a specific focus on supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The principal objective of this ...research is to develop an EFS designed to cater to the needs of Vietnamese SMEs. The study methodology involves conducting in-depth interviews with Vietnamese SMEs to ascertain their requirements for Vietnamese EFSs. Subsequently, the research proposes an architectural model for the EFS and proceeds to develop the corresponding system. The EFS operates by collecting and analyzing data from diverse online sources to identify Vietnamese experts and individuals of Vietnamese origin who can provide valuable insights and support to enterprises operating in Vietnam. This research framework is guided by five key Husain (2019)’s issues: 1) Expertise evidence selection, 2) Expert representation, 3) Model building, 4) Model evaluation, and 5) Interaction design. By addressing these issues, the study aims to contribute to the development of an effective EFS tailored to the specific needs of Vietnamese SMEs in their quest to find and engage experts for business growth and innovation.
Talaromyces marneffei infection is a major cause of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related death in South and Southeast Asia. Guidelines recommend initial treatment with amphotericin B ...deoxycholate, but this drug has substantial side effects, a high cost, and limited availability. Itraconazole is available in oral form, is associated with fewer unacceptable side effects than amphotericin, and is widely used in place of amphotericin; however, clinical trials comparing these two treatments are lacking.
In this open-label, noninferiority trial, we randomly assigned 440 HIV-infected adults who had talaromycosis, confirmed by either microscopy or culture, to receive either intravenous amphotericin B deoxycholate (amphotericin) (219 patients), at a dose of 0.7 to 1.0 mg per kilogram of body weight per day, or itraconazole capsules (221 patients), at a dose of 600 mg per day for 3 days, followed by 400 mg per day, for 11 days; thereafter, all the patients received maintenance therapy with itraconazole. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality at week 2. Secondary outcomes included all-cause mortality at week 24, the time to clinical resolution of talaromycosis, early fungicidal activity, relapse of talaromycosis, development of the immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), and the side-effect profile.
The risk of death at week 2 was 6.5% in the amphotericin group and 7.4% in the itraconazole group (absolute risk difference, 0.9 percentage points; 95% confidence interval CI, -3.9 to 5.6; P<0.001 for noninferiority); however, the risk of death at week 24 was 11.3% in the amphotericin group and 21.0% in the itraconazole group (absolute risk difference, 9.7 percentage points; 95% CI, 2.8 to 16.6; P=0.006). Treatment with amphotericin was associated with significantly faster clinical resolution and fungal clearance and significantly lower rates of relapse and IRIS than itraconazole. The patients who received amphotericin had significantly higher rates of infusion-related reactions, renal failure, hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia, and anemia than patients in the itraconazole group.
Amphotericin was superior to itraconazole as initial treatment for talaromycosis with respect to 6-month mortality, clinical response, and fungicidal activity. (Funded by the Medical Research Council and others; IVAP Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN59144167 .).
Pigs are considered an important source of Toxoplasma gondii infection for humans. Antibodies to T. gondii were determined in serum samples from 587 pigs from Vietnam using the modified agglutination ...test (MAT) and found in 160 of 587 (27.2%) pigs, with MAT titers of 1:25 in 32 pigs, 1:50 in 34 pigs, 1:100 in 33 pigs, 1:200 in 24 pigs, 1:400 in 21 pigs, 1:800 in 14 pigs, and 1:3,200 in 2 pigs. Antibodies (MAT 1:20 or higher) were found in 75 of 325 (23%) finishers, 63 of 207 (32.3%) sows, and 22 of 55 (40%) boars. Results indicate high prevalence of T. gondii infection in pigs in Vietnam. This is the first report of prevalence of T. gondii in pigs from Vietnam.
PDF