The policy of free healthcare for children under the age of 6 years in Vietnam: assessment of the uptake for children hospitalised with acute diarrhoea in Ho Chi Minh City.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the proportion of, and reasons for, households not utilising the policy of free healthcare for children under 6 years of age (FCCU6) for hospitalisation with diarrhoea, and assess the risk of catastrophic expenditure for households that forgo FCCU6 and pay out of pocket. METHODS: Invoices detailing insurance information and charges incurred from 472 hospitalised diarrhoeal cases in one paediatric hospital in Ho Chi Minh City were retrieved. Hospital charges and the utilisation of elective services were analysed for patients utilising and not utilising FCCU6. Associations between socio-economic factors with non-utilisation of FCCU6 were evaluated. RESULTS: Overall, 29% of patients were FCCU6 non-users. The FCCU6 non-users paid a median hospital charge of $29.13 (interquartile range, IQR: $18.57-46.24), consuming no more than 1.4% of a medium-income household's annual income. Seventy per cent of low-income FCCU6 non-users utilised less-expensive elective services, whereas only 43% of medium income patients and 21% of high-income patients did (P = 0.036). Patients from larger households and those with a parent working in government were more likely to use FCCU6. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of FCCU6 non-usage in this study population was 29%. A significant proportion of those that did not use FCCU6 was from lower income households and may perceive a justifiable cost-benefit ratio when forgoing FCCU6. Although a single diarrhoeal hospitalisation is unlikely to induce a catastrophic expenditure, FCCU6 non-usage may disproportionately increase the risk of catastrophic expenditure for lower income households over multiple illnesses.

A propos of a pancreatic pseudocyst associated with ascites in infant

Pancreatitis is a rare pathology in infant, but pancreatic pseudocyst associated with ascus is even the more uncommon complication. Its diagnosis is based on clinical signs, blood and peritoneal fluid biochemical examinations, especially on ultrasound. CT scanning plays an important role for diagnosis and treatment. Internal therapeutics give very good success in recompensation of liquids and electrolites, in pain relief and in maintaining pancreatic function. Surgery must be indicated once internal therapeutics give no success or in case of chronic pseudocyst, especially in case when the cyst has got a larger dimension than 10cm because of the risk of rupture

Stressful factors associated with recurrent abdominal pain among junior high school children in district 1, HoChiMinh city

Cross-sectional study conducted among 1026 schoolchildren selected from all 9 junior high schools in district 1, Hochiminh City. Recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) rate was 4,2%. Female schoolchildren were more likely to develop RAP than male. Stressful factors associated with RAP were frequently scolded by parents (49,9%), 29,6% frequent sibling quarreling, 29,5% move to new school in the year, 3,7% birth of a sibling in the year. 12,6% schoolchildren were serious diseases. 31,3% schoolchildren were hospitalized