Introduction: Several studies have compared the diagnostic value of sputum induction (SI) with flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) in diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis; however, these investigations yield an inconsistent conclusion. This study aims to evaluate the role of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) testing of SI and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples in suspected pulmonary tuberculosis cases.

Methods: A prospective study was conducted at the Department of Pulmonary in Cho Ray Hospital (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) between October 2020 and May 2021. The study comprised 60 patients hospitalized with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis who had at least one negative AFB result from spontaneous sputum or gastric lavage. All participants underwent AFB testing of SI and BAL samples on the same day.

Results: Among 60 patients, 25 (41.7%) were diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis. Of the patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, 13 had positive AFB results, including four cases with both positive AFB SI and positive AFB BAL results. The sensitivity of AFB SI was significantly lower compared to that of AFB BAL (16% vs. 52%, p = 0.0027). The most common complication associated with the SI method was cough (15%). The proportion of patients able to provide sputum using the SI method was significantly higher than those with spontaneous sputum (p = 0.0499, McNemar test).

Conclusions: SI is a safe and effective method for collecting respiratory specimens, even from patients unable to expectorate spontaneous sputum. FOB should be reserved for suspected cases of pulmonary tuberculosis that are negative for AFB in spontaneous sputum, SI, and gastric lavage.

Introduction: There is increasing recognition that acute coronavirus disease (COVID-19) can be followed by a period of long-term symptoms (“long COVID” or post-COVID-19 syndrome [PCS]). This study investigated health issues in patients who had recovered from moderate-severe COVID-19 in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized a questionnaire and telephone interviews in patients with confirmed COVID-19 who were treated in hospital between July 27 and September 15, 2021. The questionnaire gathered data on demographics, symptoms during acute COVID-19, and symptoms in the post-COVID-19 period. Logistic regression models were used to identify potential contributing factors with health issues after moderate-severe COVID-19. Health issues after moderate-severe COVID-19, similar to post-COVID-19 syndrome, were defined as the appearance of any signs or symptoms that developed during acute illness or after recovery and persisted for ≥12 weeks and could not be explained by any other medical conditions.

Results: Out of 98 individuals who completed the survey, 72 (73.5%) had symptoms after moderate-severe COVID-19. The most common symptoms were hair loss (56.1%), fatigue (42.9%), dyspnea (33.7%), sleep difficulties (26.5%), memory loss (20.4%), persistent cough (12.2%), myalgia (10.2%), muscle weakness (9.2%), palpitation (8.2%), joint pain (8.2%), and persistent sputum (6.1%). Among them, two symptoms - hair loss and fatigue - often co-occurred with dyspnea or sleep difficulties.

Conclusions: This analysis provides the first indication of the relatively high prevalence of health issues in patients who had recovered from moderate-severe COVID-19 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This could help the local health system to detect and manage health issues after moderate-severe COVID-19 in the future.

Introduction: Endometrial cancer and endometrial atypical hyperplasia, futher referred to as endometrial (pre)malignancy in approximately 8.3-17.6% of cases depending on different studies. The incidence of abnormal endometrium increases during the postmenopausal period, especially endometrial (pre)malignancy. There are limited data regarding endometrial (pre)malignant disorders in patients with postmenopausal uterine bleeding.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the risk of endometrial cancer and atypical hyperplasia in the women who had postmenopausal uterine bleeding (PUB) and assess the risk factors associated with such cases.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 164 women with PUB used vacuum aspirator with Karman canula to evaluate endometrial pathology, underwent treatment at deparment of Gynaegology, Tu Du hospital through a set of questionaires and case file reports completed from February to June of 2020.

Results: In Bayesian inference, the risk of endometrial (pre)malignancy was 17.5%, CI (credible interval) 95% of 14.1 to 21.1%. There was a significant association between the risk and the duration of bleeding (OR = 1.02, CI 95% 1.01 to 1.03, LR+ 1.96, LR- 0.37), number of live births (OR = 0.79, CI 95% 0.66 to 0.95, LR+ 2.41, LR- 0.76), endometrial thickness (OR = 1.08, CI 95% 1.01 to 1.16, LR+ 1.16, LR- 0.77) and the presence of abnormal intracavitary mass in transvaginal ultrasound (OR = 9.12, CI 95% 4.09 to 20.33, LR+ 3.65, LR- 0.4).

Conclusions: Using manual vacuum aspirator with Karman canula showed the risk of (pre)malignancy in women having PUB and this risk depends on the presence of the risk factors.