Survival Outcome and Prognostic Factors Among Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Hospital-Based Study.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cancer with very high incidence and mortality and low survival rate in Vietnam and worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the survival outcome and its prognostic factors among HCC patients. Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive study on patients newly diagnosed with HCC at Hanoi Oncology Hospital, Vietnam from January 2018 to December 2020. Overall survival (OS) was calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Log-rank test and Cox regression were used to investigate the association among patients' OS and their diagnosis and treatment factors. Results: A total of 674 patients were included. The median OS was 10.0 months. The survival rates at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months were 57.3%, 46.6%, 34.8%, and 29.7%, respectively. The initial performance status (PS), Child-Pugh score, and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage at the time of diagnosis are prognostic factors of HCC OS. A total of 451 (66.8%) patients have died, most of them (375 equally 83.1%) died at home, and only 76 (16.9%) died at hospital. Hepatocellular carcinoma patients living in the rural area more likely died at home than those living in the urban area (85.9% vs 74.8%, P = .007). Conclusions: Hepatocellular carcinoma has a poor prognosis with low OS. Performance status, Child-Pugh score, and BCLC stage were the independent prognostic factors for the survival outcome of HCC patients. The fact that most HCC patients died at home suggested that home-based hospice care needs to be paid special attention.

Anxiety and associated factors among Vietnamese students during COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study.

Mental health care for students in general, particularly anxiety, is a significant problem that needs more attention, especially during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of anxiety and examine the associated factors among students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam. A cross-sectional study was conducted from August to September 2021 among 5730 students. An online survey was used to collect sociodemographic information, and the generalized anxiety disorder questionnaire (GAD-7) was used to assess anxiety symptoms among Vietnamese students. Results showed that the prevalence of anxiety among study participants was 16.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 15.3%-17.2%). Factors related to anxiety among students were gender, type of housemate, COVID-19 exposure/infection status, vaccination status, health status, academic performance, and social relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic. A significant number of students experienced anxiety during COVID-19, and this rate was related to several factors. Psychological interventions are required to support students during and after the COVID-19 pandemic and other health crises. Further studies are required to confirm our findings.

Older Patient Satisfaction with Chronic Pain Management in the National Geriatric Hospital in Vietnam.

PURPOSE: The high prevalence of chronic pain and difficulties in pain management in older people are challenging for healthcare providers globally. Patient satisfaction regarding pain management is one of the measures to assess efficacy of pain control as well as healthcare services. Thus, our study aimed to evaluate the older patients' satisfaction with pain management and its associated factors in Vietnam. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted at National Geriatric Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam from May to October 2018. Face-to-face interviews were conducted on 495 older patients with chronic pain by using a structured questionnaire. The Pain Treatment Satisfaction Scale (PTSS) was used to assess the level of satisfaction with pain management. A Tobit regression model was used to estimate factors associated with satisfaction toward pain management. RESULTS: The mean total satisfaction score was 1.77 (SD= 0.22). Older patients were most satisfied with the aspect of side effects of pain relief medication (mean=0.66, SD=0.56). On the contrary, they were most dissatisfied with information provided about pain and its treatment and efficacy of pain relief medication. Outpatients were less satisfied with information provided, the impact of current medication and pain management in general compared to inpatients. The regression model showed that patients with severe pain tended to be more dissatisfied with pain management than those with no pain. CONCLUSION: This study indicated that the general satisfaction with chronic pain management in older patients was quite good especially in the aspect of pain medication's side effects. However, dissatisfactory factors remained, including information provided about pain and efficacy of current pain medication. Intensive training regarding pain in geriatric care, health education communication for older people, and improved quality of medical services should be performed to ensure the quality of pain management, especially in the older population.