Antibiotic prescribing practices of medical doctors in a resource-limited setting and the influence of individual perceptions and stewardship support: a survey in three tertiary hospitals in Vietnam.

Objectives: To understand antibiotic prescribing and influencing factors to inform antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) interventions to reduce unwanted consequences of antibiotic use in hospitals in Vietnam, a lower-middle-income country in Asia. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of doctors at three tertiary hospitals using non-probability convenience sampling, through a paper-based (Hospitals 1 and 2) or electronic (Hospital 3) survey. Questions included items on perceptions regarding antibiotic resistance and AMS, prescribing practices, knowledge, demographics and training. We used principal components analysis and mixed-effects models to examine practices and identify influencing factors. Results: Among 314 surveyed participants, 61%, 57% and 59% in Hospitals 1, 2 and 3, respectively, felt certain about the appropriateness of their antibiotic prescriptions. In total, 9% reported sometimes prescribing antibiotics when not needed to meet patients' expectations, and 13% reported doing so to avoid perceived complications. Higher prescribing confidence was found among those with positive perceptions about AMS (P < 0.0001), whereas negative perceptions about colleagues' practices reduced this confidence (P < 0.0001). Individual preference for branded antibiotics was associated with more unnecessary prescribing whereas having higher prescribing confidence decreased the habits of prescribing when not needed. Conclusions: This study provides important implications for design of hospital interventions to address influencing factors on antibiotic prescribing in Vietnam and similar resource-limited settings. Specific interventions should target improving knowledge through education and training for doctors, enhancing the support from the AMS team, and promoting guidelines and policies for appropriate antibiotic use in hospital.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors as initial therapy for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in accelerated phase.

BACKGROUND: Accelerated phase CML most frequently represents a progression state in CML. However, some patients present with AP features at the time of diagnosis. There is limited information on the outcome of these patients who received TKIs as initial therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analyzed the outcome of 51 consecutive patients with CML who presented with features of AP at the time of diagnosis, including blasts ≥ 15% (n = 6), basophils ≥ 20% (n = 22), platelets < 100 × 10(9)/L (n = 3), cytogenetic clonal evolution (n = 17), or more than 1 feature (n = 3). Patients received initial therapy with imatinib (n = 30), dasatinib (n = 5), or nilotinib (n = 16). RESULTS: The rate of complete cytogenetic response for patients treated with imatinib was 80%, and with dasatinib or nilotinib was 90%. Major molecular response (MMR) (Breakpoint Cluster Region (BCR)-Abelson (ABL)/ABL ≤ 0.1%, International Scale [IS]) was achieved in 69% of patients including complete molecular response (BCR-ABL/ABL ≤ 0.0032% IS) in 49%. MMR rates for patients treated with imatinib were 63%, and with 2GTKIs, 76%. Overall survival at 36 months was 87% with imatinib and 95% with 2GTKIs. CONCLUSION: TKIs should be considered standard initial therapy for patients with AP at the time of diagnosis.

Hyponatraemia, rhabdomyolysis, alterations in blood pressure and persistent mydriasis in patients envenomed by Malayan kraits (Bungarus candidus) in southern Viet Nam.

Between 1998 and 2007, 42 patients admitted to Choray hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, and to two hospitals in adjacent regions in southern Viet Nam brought the Malayan kraits (Bungarus candidus) that had been responsible for biting them. Half of the patients had been bitten while they were asleep. Fang marks and numbness were the only local features of the bites. Common signs of neurotoxic envenoming included bilateral ptosis, persistently dilated pupils, limb weakness, breathlessness, hypersalivation, dysphonia and dysphagia. Thirty patients (71.4%) required endotracheal intubation of whom all but one were mechanically ventilated. Fourteen patients (33.3%) developed hypertension, 13 (31.0%) shock, 31 (73.8%) hyponatraemia (plasma sodium concentration < 130 mEq/l) and 30 (71.4%) showed evidence of mild rhabdomyolysis (peak plasma creatine kinase concentration 1375 +/- 140 micro/l). None developed acute kidney injury. All the patients were treated with a new monospecific B. candidus antivenom. There were no fatalities. Hyponatraemia has been reported previously in victims of Chinese kraits (Bungarus multicinctus) in northern Viet Nam and rhabdomyolysis in patients envenomed by B. niger in Bangladesh. These features of envenoming pose new problems for the management of krait bite cases in South east Asia and should stimulate a search for the causative venom toxins.