Hung Gia Tran

Objective: To evaluate the treatment outcome of scabies with 7% sulfur cream. Research object and Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 54 patients diagnosed with scabies at Can Tho Dermato-Venereology Hospital from 2024 to 2025. Patients applied 7% sulfur cream for three consecutive days and were evaluated two weeks after treatment. Results: Significant improvement in itching and skin lesions was observed after two weeks (p < 0.001). The cure rate was 85.2%. Mild and transient side effects including erythema, stinging, burning and dry skin were reported in 11.1% of patients. Conclusion: 7% sulfur cream is a safe and effective treatment for scabies.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the major causative agent of genital warts and various anogenital cancers. In Vietnam, limited data exists on HPV genotype prevalence and distribution. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and distribution of HPV types among patients with genital warts in Can Tho City and to explore their associations with demographic and clinical characteristics. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Can Tho Dermatology Hospital with 109 patients diagnosed with genital warts. HPV genotyping was performed using real-time PCR and reverse dot blot hybridization to detect both the low- and high-risk HPV types. Associations between HPV types and variables such as age, sex, and lesion site were analyzed statistically. HPV was detected in 89% of the patients. The low-risk types HPV11 (50.5%) and HPV6 (47.4%) were the most common. The high-risk types, HPV51 (30.9%) and HPV52 (20.6%), were frequent, especially in females (83.6% vs. 63.3% in males, p = 0.030). Co-infections occurred in 71.6% of females and 60% of males. Lesion location correlated with HPV type distribution. The high prevalence of both low- and high-risk HPV types highlights the need for enhanced vaccination coverage and continued HPV surveillance. These findings provide critical data for developing HPV prevention strategies in Vietnam.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of sleep disorders before and after itraconazole treatment in patients with seborrheic dermatitis. Research object and Method: This cross-sectional study included 45 patients diagnosed with seborrheic dermatitis who sought treatment at Can Tho Dermatology Hospital between June 2024 and November 2024. Sleep disturbances were evaluated using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) before and after treatment. The effectiveness of itraconazole was assessed based on symptom severity (erythema, scaling, itching, and burning), scored on a 0–3 scale (none–severe) over six weeks. Results: Before treatment, 28.9% of patients experienced sleep disorders, with prevalence rates of 21.6% in those with moderate SD and 62.5% in those with severe SD. Following itraconazole treatment, the prevalence of sleep disorders significantly decreased to 6.7% (p < 0.001). Treatment outcomes improved over time, with 51.1%, 84.5%, and 95.6% of patients achieving good or excellent results at weeks 2, 4, and 6, respectively. Patients with moderate SD showed better treatment responses compared to those with severe SD. No adverse effects related to itraconazole were reported during the six-week follow-up. Conclusion: Sleep disturbances in seborrheic dermatitis were correlated with disease severity. After itraconazole treatment, patients experienced significant improvements in sleep quality, as indicated by lower PSQI scores. Patients with moderate SD responded more favorably to treatment than those with severe SD. These findings suggest that itraconazole is a safe and effective treatment option for managing both moderate and severe seborrheic dermatitis while also improving sleep quality.

Oxyresveratrol (ORV) is one of the novel antioxidants having been extensively studied in recent years. One of the main sources of ORV is Artocarpus lakoocha, which has been used in traditional medicine in Thailand for decades. However, the role of ORV in skin inflammation has not been clearly demonstrated. Therefore, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of ORV on dermatitis model. The effect of ORV was examined on human immortalized and primary skin cells exposed to bacterial components including peptidoglycan (PGN) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and 2,4-Dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB)-induced dermatitis mouse model. PGN and LPS were used to induce inflammation on immortalized keratinocytes (HaCaT) and human epidermal keratinocytes (HEKa). We then performed MTT assay, Annexin V and PI assay, cell cycle analysis, real-time PCR, ELISA and Western blot in these in vitro models. H&E staining, immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining with CD3, CD4 and CD8 markers were used to evaluate the effects of ORV in in vivo model of skin inflammation using BALB/c mice. Pretreatment of HaCaT and HEKa cells with ORV inhibited pro-inflammatory cytokine production through inhibition of NF-κB pathway. In DNCB-induced dermatitis mouse model, ORV treatment reduced lesion severity, and skin thickness and numbers of CD3, CD4 and CD8 T cells in the sensitized skin of mice. In conclusion, it has been demonstrated that ORV treatment can ameliorate inflammation in the in vitro models of skin inflammation and in vivo models of dermatitis, suggesting a therapeutic potential of ORV for treatment of skin diseases particularly eczema.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, is among the top global health crises. As confirmed by the Vietnam Ministry of Health on 25th January 2023, Vietnam had a cumulative total of more than 11.52 million COVID-19 patients, including 10.61 million recoveries and 43,186 deaths. Objectives: This study aimed to describe the clinical and subclinical characteristics, treatment progress, and outcomes of 310 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: A total of 310 patients with medical records of SARS-CoV-2 were admitted to Can Tho City Hospital of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Can Tho city, Vietnam, between July 2021 and December 2021. Demographic and clinical data, including laboratory examinations, of all the patients were collected and analyzed. Results: The median duration of hospital stay was 16.4 ± 5.3 days. There were 243 (78.4%) patients with clinical symptoms of COVID-19 and 67 (21.6%) patients without clinical symptoms. The common symptoms included cough (71.6% of 310 patients), fever (35.4%), shortness of breath (22.6%), sore throat (21.4%), loss of smell/taste (15.6%), and diarrhea (14.4%). Regarding treatment outcomes, 92.3% of the patients were discharged from the hospital, 1.9% of the patients suffered a more severe illness and were transferred to a higher-level hospital, and 5.8% of the patients died. The RT-PCR results were negative in 55.2% of the patients, and 37.1% of the patients had positive RT-PCR results with Ct values of >30 on the discharge/transfer day. Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that comorbidity and decreased blood pH were statistically significantly related to the treatment outcomes of the patients with COVID-19 (p < 0.05). Conclusions: This study provides useful information (i.e., the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes) on the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam during its biggest outbreak; the information may be used for reference and for making improvements in the handling of future health crises.

Introduction: Antibiotic resistance in Enterobacteriaceae producing extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) is increasing. Accurate evaluation of antibiotic resistance rates in various categories of bacteria assists medical physicians in recommending suitable indications for their medical problems, improving treatment efficiency, and minimizing dangers for patients. As a result, we undertook this research to assess the prevalence of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae as well as the rate of antibiotic resistance in ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 2716 patients at the An Giang Central General Hospital from June 2020 to June 2021. Data collection was based on interviews and used SPSS 18.0 and GraphPad Prism 9 for data analysis and presentation. Samples included urine, blood, sputum, and pus. Samples were treated with the Phoenix 100 automated machine to separate and identify samples. Results: The highest rate was 64.8% for Escherichia coli, followed by 30.2% for Klebsiella pneumoniae. Proteus mirabilis and Klebsiella oxytoca were found in 4.5% and 0.6% of the samples, respectively. Ampicillin resistance was greatest in E. coli (96.5%), K. pneumonia (92.4%), and K oxytoca (83.3%). The frequency of resistance to the other antibiotics was likewise extremely high, approaching 60%. Tobramycin, Amoxicillin/Clavulanate, Cefoxitin, and Nitrofurantoin were totally resistant to K. oxytoca in the ESBL-producing group. E. coli and K. pneumoniae with ESBL-producing genes also have a high antibiotic resistance rate of more than 50%. Conclusion: E. coli was the most common pathogenic bacteria. Most of the species of bacteria resisted Ampicillin.

Due to the overuse of antibiotics in treatment and regional variation in disease factors, community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) has a relatively high morbidity and mortality rate. This study determined the prevalence of bacteria that cause CAP and the rate of antibiotic resistance. From April 2018 to May 2019, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 254 CAP patients at hospitals and medical centers in the province of Vinh Long. Based on interviews and medical records, SPSS 18.0 was used to analyze the data. CAP-causing bacteria, antibiotic susceptibility, and extended-spectrum β-lactamase production of bacteria were determined by performing Identification and Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing on sputum specimens using the VITEK 2 Automated instrument. With a total of 254 patients, the age of 60s accounted for the highest prevalence. Streptococcus pneumonia was the leading factor, accounting for 12.6%, followed by Klebsiella pneumonia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa at 12.2% and 8.3%, respectively. The Enterobacteriaceae group was the highest at 36.5%, followed by other gram-negative bacteria (34%) and gram-positive bacteria (29.5%). Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid ranked the highest in antibiotic resistance, accounting for 31.4% of Enterobacteriaceae and 91.7% of non-Enterobacteriaceae. S. pneumonia resisted erythromycin at a high prevalence (84.4%), followed by clindamycin (71.9%) and tetracycline (78.1%). The age of 60s was the leading group in community pneumonia and had increased resistance to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and cefuroxime.