Abstract: Introduction: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is one of the most common causes of chronic pain and disability. In addition, many studies have shown that laser acupuncture (LA) has a great analgesic effect and minimal side effects. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of LA combined with knee exercises (KE) in patients with KOA.

Methods: A pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted on 60 patients with KOA at Le Van Thinh Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City from May 2021 to September 2022. Patients were randomly allocated to LA group (n = 30) with KE combined LA or the therapeutic ultrasound (TU) group (n = 30) with KE combined with TU in 4 weeks. The outcome measurements were visual analog scale (VAS) scores and knee range of motion (ROM). The data were collected at 5 time points: T0 (baseline) and after every week of treatment.

Results: After a 4-week treatment, the VAS score of patients in LA groups decreased from 6(5-6) to 3 cm (2-4) (p < 0.01) but was not significantly different when compared to patients in TU groups. In contrast, there is an improvement in the ROM score of patients, from 132.5 (130 – 140) to 140 (140 – 140) with the KOA, and has significantly different when compared to patients in TU groups (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: LA combined with KE exhibited equivalent analgesic effects and increased knee ROM in patients KOA after 2, 3, and 4-week treatment.

Introduction: Heart failure (HF) is a common chronic disease with high morbidity and mortality rates. Besides HF treatments aimed to improve patients’ quality of life and health status, health education interventions for behavioral changes ensuring their adherence to treatment are very important. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of behavioral health education interventions on knowledge, treatment adherence, and quality of life of patients with HF.

Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial. A total of 330 patients were selected and randomly distributed into intervention and control groups (n = 165 per group). Data were collected at the time points before the intervention and three months after the intervention using the Dutch Heart Failure Knowledge Scale (DHFKS), Revised Heart Failure Compliance Scale (RHFCS), and quality of life (EQ-5D-5L v2.1, Vietnamese version).

Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups in HF knowledge or quality of life at baseline. After three months of health education intervention, intervention group significant increase to 1.68 times (95%CI: 1.05 – 2.69; p=0.03) in overall HF knowledge; 1.91 times (95%CI: 1.25 – 2.92; p=0.003) in general HF knowledge and 1.59 times (95%CI: 1.03 – 2.45; p=0.038) in behavior of exercise when compare to control group.  However, the quality of life did not change significantly after the intervention.

Conclusions: Although the health education intervention had no impact on the quality of life of patients with HF, it was effective in improving their HF knowledge and treatment adherence.

Introduction: Heart failure (HF) is one of the most common diseases worldwide, with a high prevalence and mortality, creating a significant cost burden on patients, society, and the healthcare system. As a result, extensive research has been conducted to investigate advanced treatment methods for heart failure, and patient adherence plays a crucial role in optimizing treatment effectiveness. This study aims to describe the current status of patients’ knowledge, treatment adherence, and quality of life among outpatients with heart failure visiting for routine treatment at Nhan Dan Gia Dinh Hospital.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted on 330 outpatients with heart failure who were visited for routine treatment at Nhan Dan Gia Dinh Hospital. All data were collected through face-to-face interviews using constructed questionnaires.

Results: The study showed the limit of heart failure knowledge among patients, with a mean score of 5.2 ± 2.3. Only 4.8% of patients were adequate overall heart failure knowledge. The treatment adherence was limited, with an overall adherence rate of 20.9%. The patient’s quality of life was generally stable at a high level, with a mean of 0.871 for the descriptive system score and 0.697 for the standardized VAS score.

Conclusion: The adherence rate of patients with HF was low, particularly among those with non-drug adherence. Very few patients with heart failure have adequate knowledge of heart failure. More support and health education programs on heart failure treatment adherence are needed for patients to increase their knowledge, adherence and improve their quality of life.

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a health problem that must be taken care of during pregnancy. If not treated promptly, UTIs can progress to severe and leave unpredictable complications for both mother and fetus. Currently, in Vietnam, there are few studies on UTIs in pregnancy, especially on pathogens as well as their antibiotic susceptibility characteristics.

Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the bacteria rates among pregnant women with UTI symptoms and antibiotic resistance patterns.

Methods: In a cross-sectional survey, a total of 178 pregnant women at Thuan Kieu General Clinic from 05/2022 to 07/2022 were recruited. Urine from these patients was cultured on BA, MC, and CHROMagarTM Orientation.

Results: The infection ratio was 30.3%. The rate of Gram-positive cocci was 77.8%, and the rate of Gram-negative bacilli was 22.2%. Specifically, the highest proportion was the group of Staphylococcus coagulase negative with 26 samples at 46.3%; Staphylococcus aureus was isolated in all 8 samples at 14.8%; samples infected with Streptococci and Enterococci at 14.8% and 1.9%; 6 samples infected with E. coli with 11.1%; 4 samples infected by Acinetobacter sp with 7.4%; and the remaining were infected with Klebsiella sp with 3.7%. In addition, in the study, two samples of Staphylococci resistant to Methicillin were isolated at 3.7%. The rate of pathogenic bacteria resistant to the old single antibiotics of the β-lactam is high, while the combined antibiotics give good treatment efficiency with both negative and positive cultures.

Conclusion: The rate of UTI in pregnant women is 30.3%. Pathogens mainly found include Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, Klebsiella sp, and Acinetobacter sp. E. coli is no longer the leading cause of UTIs. As a replacement, there was an increase in Gram-positive cocci as Staphylococci. Recommended antibiotics for UTIs are nitrofurantoin, and β-lactam antibiotics in combination, such as amoxicillin-clavulanate, and piperacillin-tazobactam.

Introduction: CAD/CAM restorations of deep cavities are the challenges faced by intraoral-scanner (IOS) for accurate 3D data acquisition. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of cavity depth on the accuracy of intraoral digital impressions.

Methods: Three different mesio-occlusal class II inlay cavities on first maxillary molars were designed and 3D-printed with respective proximal box’s height of 1, 2 and 3mm (group 1, 2, 3 respectively), each of which was scanned 10 times using an IOS. The reference scans of inlay cavities were obtained by an industrial scanner. Data were 3D superimposed with reference impression for trueness (n=10) and intergroup superimposed (n=45) for precision. Outcome variables for value of trueness were mean average deviation (mm), minimum/maximum average deviation (mm) and unacceptable/total elements distribution ratio (%), and for value of precision was mean average deviation (mm).

Results: The 1mm-depth group resulted in the best trueness and precision significantly. For the trueness, there were significant differences between 3 groups with each other, the lowest deviation was for group 1 (21μm) statistically, followed by group 2 (24μm), group 3 (26μm). For the precision, group 1 showed the lowest scattered images statistically (mean deviation 4.7μm), then group 2, 3 (6μm and 13.8μm respectively). The deviated areas were located mostly at gingival walls of the cavity.

Conclusion: The deeper the cavity, the less accurate the digital impressions, which may raise clinical concerns. It suggests the cavity elevation with resin composite might optimize the 3D acquisition of IOS to ensure the fitness of CAD-CAM restorations.

Background: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a prevalent condition with growing interest in traditional medicine (TM) treatment. However, there is a dearth of TM epidemiological data on GERD in Vietnam. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of TM patterns and evaluate their association with the severity of GERD to lay the groundwork for clinical practice.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City, from December 2021 to May 2022. GERD patients diagnosed by gastroenterologists were enrolled in the survey. The PIGERD tool was used to classify patients into TM patterns. Demographic characteristics and GERD questionnaire (GERDQ) scores were also collected. Statistical analyses were performed to determine the proportion of each TM pattern and the distribution of GERDQ scores within each pattern.

Results: Among the 384 surveyed GERD patients, the Liver qi invading Stomach (LQIS) pattern had the highest proportion (49.2%), followed by Spleen-Stomach weakness (24.7%), Spleen-Stomach dampness-heat (13.3%), and Stomach yin deficiency (12.8%). The LQIS pattern also exhibited the highest GERDQ score (median [interquartile range] of 9 [7, 10]), which significantly differed from the other patterns (p=0.0001). The remaining three patterns had lower GERDQ scores, and the differences were not statistically significant (p>0.05).

Conclusions: LQIS pattern was the most prevalent among GERD patients and had the highest severity. Further multicenter studies are recommended to confirm these findings.

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: A combination of three active ingredients amlodipine besylate, telmisartan, and hydrochlorothiazide has been used and proven effective in the treatment of hypertension in patients with moderate to severe hypertension, while it contributes to a reduction in product costs and increases patient compliance. However, there are no monographs in pharmacopoeias for the simultaneous quantification of these three active ingredients. Therefore, in order to contribute to the establishment of an in-house specification for domestic generic drugs, shorten the time of quantifying each ingredient separately, the study was carried out with the aim of developing and validating procedure for the simultaneous quantification of amlodipine besylate, telmisartan, and hydrochlorothiazide by high performance liquid chromatography.

Methods: In this study, we conducted an investigation into different chromatographic conditions, developed an analytical procedure for the simultaneous quantification of amlodipine besylate, telmisartan, and hydrochlorothiazide in tablets preparation. The procedure was validated in compliance with ICH guidelines.

Results: Suitable chromatographic conditions for simultaneous quantification of amlodipine besylate, telmisartan, and hydrochlorothiazide are: Xterra C18 column (250 x 4.6 mm, 5 μm), detection wavelength 230 nm, gradient program of mobile phase: acetonitrile and phosphate buffer pH 3.0, flow rate 1.0 ml/min, sample injection volume 10 μl, column temperature 30°C. The procedure was validated for systematic suitability, accuracy, specificity, linearity, precision, working range, and robustness.

Conclusion: A procedure for the simultaneous quantification of amlodipine besylate, telmisartan, and hydrochlorothiazide in tablets by high performance liquid chromatography has been successfully developed and validated.

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: The menopause rating scale (MRS) has been proven to be a reliable tool for quantifying the impact of menopausal symptoms and aiding clinicians in prescribing appropriate treatments worldwide. However, the Vietnamese-MRS (VN-MRS) has not been developed. This research aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the VN-MRS, and identify factors that are associated with menopausal symptoms in women aged 50 to 59.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 200 women aged 50 - 59 years in Vietnam from February 2020 to June 2020. The MRS was translated into Vietnamese following the procedure from the Berlin Center for Epidemiology and Health Research and adjusted to fit the local culture. Reliability was assessed by using Cronbach’s alpha coefficients and repeatability (using Intra-class Correlation Coefficient (ICC) at 2-week intervals). Validity was assessed by concurrent validity and construct validity.

Results: Cronbach's alpha for the total score was 0.89. Repeatability (test-retest) was valued as “very good” (ICC = 0.991). The fit indices for construct validity, after adjustment, were: χ2 (39) = 67.78 with p = 0.003; SRMR = 0.042; TLI = 0.971; CFI = 0.979; RMSEA = 0.061 90% confidence interval (CI) (0.035 – 0.084). Concurrent validity demonstrated an inverse correlation with the SF-36 survey (r = - 0.87; p<0.001). Age, education, and menopausal period were contributed to the menopausal score.

Conclusions: The VN-MRS has good reliability and validity, making it suitable for assessing the severity of menopausal symptoms in middle-aged Vietnamese women.

The miR-144-3p was discovered to upregulate in osteoarthritis. However, the function of this molecule is still poorly understood. Identification of microRNA target genes could shed a light on miRNA functions.  In this project, we aim to identify a direct target of miR-144-3p. Potential targets of miR-144-3p were predicted by bioinformatic algorithms. Expression of ADAMTSL3 in miRNA-144-3p gain-and-loss-of function experiment was quantified by Realtime-PCR. Next, the 3'UTR of ADAMTSL3 containing miR-144-3p-binding sites was subcloned in the 3’UTR of the Firefly luciferase gene on the pmiRGlo. To test the complementary binding of miR-144-3p to ADAMTSL3 mRNA, we employed the luciferase assay using pmiRGlo-ADAMTSL3 vector or pmiRGlo-ADAMTSL3 mutant in which miR-144-3p binding sites in the 3’UTR was mutated. Results showed that miRNA-144-3p directly inhibits the expression of ADAMTSL3 through its ability to pair at "seed" sites. This study provides evidence for the interaction of miRNA-144-3p and its target, ADAMTSL3 mRNA, in chondrocytes.

Introduction: Auricular acupuncture (AA) is a method of Traditional Medicine that has been used for a long time to treat many diseases, including stroke. This study aimed to examine the effect of auricular acupuncture combined with electro-acupuncture and physiotherapy exercise in the motor rehabilitation of patients with ischemic stroke.

Methods: 128 patients after ischemic stroke participated in this RCT, then were randomly assigned to either the AA-study group (auricular acupuncture combined with electro-acupuncture and conventional therapy) or the CT - control group (sham auricular acupuncture combined with electro- acupuncture and conventional therapy). They were treated and monitored for six consecutive weeks. Clinical outcomes were measured using the Barthel Index (BI), Fugl Meyer Assessment (FMA), and Motricity Index (MI) scales at two-time points, including before and six weeks after initiation of the intervention.

Results: After six weeks, FMA, BI, and MI scores were significantly higher than before treatment (p < 0.05) in both groups. Specifically, the study group had a statistically significant improvement compared to the control group (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: This study shows that auricular acupuncture in combination with electro-acupuncture and physiotherapy exercise was more effective than electro-acupuncture and physiotherapy exercise in improving motor function in patients after ischemic stroke.

Introduction: Auricular Acupuncture (AA) is both a diagnostic method and a treatment used to relieve pain and alleviate addictions. The effects and biological mechanisms of AA on the human body have been increasingly observed in clinical and experimental studies based on the gate control theory and the endogenous opioids theory. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in facial pain thresholds among healthy volunteers after applying AA to acupoints on both auricles.

Methods: This was a pilot study with a crossover randomized controlled trial design. 66 healthy volunteers with normal hemodynamic indexes were randomly assigned to one of two groups to receive AA treatment at the Shenmen point, Sympathetic point, Adrenal gland point, Jaw point, and Tooth point of either the left or right auricle (phase 1). 7 days later, participants received sham acupuncture at the same points (phase 2).

Results: In phase 1, the results showed that AA at these points in either auricle increased the pain threshold of the facial skin statistically significantly (p<0.05). No statistically significant difference was detected in the sham acupuncture phase.

Conclusions: This suggests that AA can be used as a non-pharmacological adjunct to facial pain relief.

Introduction: Measuring scales are an indispensable tool in rehabilitation interventions, especially when you want to intervene with Traditional medicine methods on post-stroke patients. Appropriate scales are a prerequisite to assessing treatment response, the degree of recovery, and the value of the intervention method. The Barthel Index (BI) is a common scale used to measure activity function (activities of daily living - ADL), while the Fugl Meyer Assessment (FMA) and Motricity Index (MI) are commonly used scales to measure motor function.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 128 post-stroke patients with hemiplegia from March 2021 to November 2022. Spearman's test assessed the correlation of 3 scales: BI, FMA, and MI.

Results: FMA and MI significantly correlate with BI, with correlation coefficients of r = 0.659 and r = 0.748, respectively. The subdomains of FMA, including FMA-UE (upper extremity), FMA-LE (lower extremity), and MI, including MI-UE (upper extremity), MI-LE (lower extremity), TCT (Trunk Control Test), are also highly correlated with BI.

Conclusions: Research results show that scales such as FMA and MI strongly correlate with BI and can be a valuable tool to support the comprehensive assessment of motor and activity function in post-stroke patients.

Introduction: Removing the third molar is a common dental surgery that often results in swelling and discomfort, impacting the patient's wellbeing. Previous studies have shown that auricular acupuncture (AA) can effectively alleviate pain after surgery. This study aimed to assess the pain-relieving benefits of AA for patients undergoing third molar surgery.

Methods: A clinical trial using a split-mouth design and double-blind methodology was conducted at the Dental Clinic of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh city between March 2022 and March 2023. Participants had both sides of their third molars extracted, with one side receiving AA in combination with postoperative pain relief medication, and the other side receiving sham AA along with postoperative pain relief medication. Pain levels at 2, 24, 48, and 72 hours after surgery, and the amount of pain medication used was recorded. Additionally, any side effects resulting from the AA treatment were also evaluated.

Results: The pain levels measured by the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) decreased over time for both intervention periods after surgery, with statistically significant lower VAS scores observed in the AA time compared to the sham AA time. The amount of 500mg/tablet paracetamol used after the intervention also decreased over time for both periods. At all-time points, the amount of paracetamol used in the AA group was lower than the sham AA group. No adverse effects were reported in either group.

Conclusions: AA was effective for relieving pain after madibular third molar surgery and reducing amount of paracetamol tablets.