Dry eye rate and its relationship with disease stage in patients with primary hypertension: a cross-sectional study in Vietnam.

AIM: To determine the dry eye (DE) rate and its relationship with disease stage in patients with primary hypertension. METHODS: A cross-sectional study included 432 patients with primary hypertension (with an equal number of patients in each group: 144 in stage I, II, and III hypertension) and 144 healthy subjects as a control group. The Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) and Schirmer I test without anesthetics were conducted on all 576 subjects. Subjects with OSDI scores <13 and Schirmer I values equal to or under 10 mm were diagnosed with DE. RESULTS: The ratio of DE in hypertension patients was higher than in the control group (41.7% versus 18.8%; P<0.001). The proportion of patients with DE increased gradually according to the hypertension stage: 27.1% in stage I, 40.3% in stage II, and 57.6% in stage III, P<0.001. Age, duration of hypertension, plasma urea, creatinine, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP-hs) levels in hypertension patients with DE were higher than those without DE, P<0.001. Advanced age, a long duration of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, elevated plasma creatinine, and CRP-hs levels were independent factors associated with DE in primary hypertension patients, P<0.001. CONCLUSION: DE is a common disorder associated with advanced age, a long duration of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, elevated plasma CRP-hs, and creatinine levels in patients with primary hypertension.

Serum and Urine Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin Levels Measured at Admission Predict Progression to Chronic Kidney Disease in Sepsis-Associated Acute Kidney Injury Patients.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the ratio of acute kidney injury (AKI) to chronic kidney disease (CKD) in sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI) patients of the intensive care unit (ICU) and predictive value of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) measured at the admission time in the progression of AKI to CKD. METHODS: A study of 121 consecutive adult patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) diagnosed as SA-AKI. AKI and CKD were defined based on Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was calculated by the CKD-EPI formula. Serum and urine NGAL was measured using the BioVendor Human Lipocalin-2/NGAL ELISA with a blood sample taken at hospital admission time. RESULTS: The ratio of AKI to CKD in SA-AKI patients was 22.3%. Mean concentration of serum and urine NGAL in AKI to the CKD group was 790.99 ng/ml and 885.72 ng/ml, higher significantly than those of recovery patients (351.86 ng/ml and 264.68 ng/ml), p < 0.001. eGFR, both serum and urine NGAL had a predictive value for AKI to CKD (eGFR: AUC = 0.857, Se = 74.1%, Spe = 92.6%, p < 0.001. Serum NGAL: AUC = 0.868, Se = 77.8%, Spe = 91.5%. Urine NGAL: AUC = 0.869, Se = 77.8%, Spe = 92.6%, p < 0.001. CONCLUSION: Serum and urine NGAL, measuring at hospital admission time, were good prognostic biomarkers of AKI to CKD in SA-AKI patients.

Serum total iron-binding capacity and iron status in patients with non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease: A cross-sectional study in Vietnam.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We performed this study to evaluate serum iron and ferritin concentrations, serum total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), and proportion of overall iron deficiency among patients with non-dialysisdependent chronic kidney disease (ND-CKD). METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: A hospital-based cross-sectional observational study was conducted on 175 adult patients with stage 3-5 chronic kidney disease (CKD) by using 51 healthy age-sex-matched Vietnamese adults as the control group. We next examined the prevalence of anemia and determined the serum iron and ferritin concentrations and TIBC. Anemia in CKD was defined as hemoglobin levels <13 g/dL in men and <12 g/dL in women. Transferrin saturation (TSAT, %) was calculated as (serum iron x 100)/TIBC. Functional iron deficiency was defined as serum ferritin >100 ng/mL and TSAT <20%, and absolute iron deficiency was defined as serum ferritin <100 ng/mL and TSAT <20%. Overall iron deficiency was defined as the presence of either absolute or functional iron deficiency. RESULTS: Anemia prevalence in our study was approximately 88.6% with a mean hemoglobin concentration of 9.71±2.26 g/dL. The median serum TIBC was lower in the CKD group (50.4 µmol/L) than in the control group (66.0 µmol/L; p<0.001). The proportion of overall iron deficiency was 44.0%. TIBC had a diagnostic value for overall iron deficiency (area under the ROC curve=0.81; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Anemia and iron deficiency are common in Vietnamese patients with NDCKD. TIBC had diagnostic value for overall iron deficiency.

Current status of soil-transmitted helminths in Vietnam.

This paper provides a review of surveys on soil-transmitted helminths that were done in Vietnam between 1990 and 2001. Prevalence estimates could be obtained for 29 of the 61 provinces. Extrapolating from this, it is estimated that 33.9 million people in Vietnam are infected with Ascaris (prevalence 44.4%), 17.6 million with Trichuris (prevalence 23.1%), and 21.8 million with hookworm (prevalence 28.6%). Prevalence of Ascaris and Trichuris showed a declining trend from the north to the south of the country. This is probably related to differences in climatic conditions. Hookworm prevalence is more evenly distributed throughout the country, but is concentrated in peri-urban and rural agricultural areas. Vegetable cultivation in which nightsoil is used as fertilizer is a risk factor for hookworm infection, especially among adult women. Helminth control programs should be targeted at school-age children in the northern provinces. Specific interventions are needed throughout the country for women of agricultural communities that are at risk for hookworm infection. There is clearly a need for more detailed analysis of risk factors to quantify the relative contribution of climatic, environmental, and human behavioral factors in the transmission of intestinal nematode infections in Vietnam.

The food-borne trematode zoonoses of Vietnam.

During the past couple of decades, numerous surveys for the occurrence and distribution of food-borne trematodes in Vietnam have been carried out. However, the majority of the data obtained have not been published in international journals, and therefore, the seriousness of these trematode parasitic zoonoses in the country has not been fully appreciated. To correct this, over 40 Vietnamese language reports and local publications were translated and organized as a status review for an international audience. The results show that such serious trematode zoonoses as clonorchiasis, opisthorchiasis, paragonimiasis and fascioliasis are common in many regions of Vietnam, and, in the case of fascioliasis and paragonimiasis, are increasing. Data on the species of intermediate hosts involved in the transmission of these zoonoses, and the effect of host sex and age on infection frequencies are presented, along with findings on food preference/behavior investigations. Finally, the authors present recommendations for further research to provide a more comprehensive picture of the status of these zoonoses, and to obtain the risk assessment information needed to design prevention and control programs.

Taenia solium cysticercosis in a village in northern Viet Nam: seroprevalence study using an ELISA for detecting circulating antigen.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detecting circulating Taenia solium antigen was evaluated in Viet Nam; 12 of 210 people gave a positive result, including 5 persons with epilepsy. Cysticercosis was confirmed in 9 persons. Agreement between the ELISA, computerized tomography scanning and biopsy examination was high.