A Secular Trend in Birth Weight and Delivery Practices in Periurban Vietnam During 2005-2012.

The remarkable increase in Vietnamese economic conditions can increase the birth weight in neonates and better delivery practices among women. The Chi Linh Health and Demographic Surveillance System started in 2004. An open cohort of data consisting of about 57 561 people from 17 993 households has been followed primarily with respect to demography, economy, and education. The aim of this research is to study secular trends in delivery practice and birth weight in the past decade (2005-2012) in Chi Linh. We found a significant change in delivery rates at hospitals and cesarean section rates, but the birth weights over a decade of drastic economic development were stable. Furthermore, the findings show significant associations of birth weight and delivery practices with the child's sex, mother's age, and household income. Our results might be considered as representative for other similar periurban settings in Vietnam. We suggest that appropriate policies should be developed given the reduction in the use of delivery services in commune health centers in urban areas.

Clinical characteristics of pediatric HIV-1 patients treated with first-line antiretroviral therapy in Vietnam: a nested case-control study.

OBJECTIVES: Over the past decades, Vietnam has made great strides in reducing the rate of mortality in HIV-related deaths, due to increased access of antiretroviral therapy (ART); however, given the significantly high level of treatment failure (TF), it is essential to identify markers that describe the failure of ART in HIV-1 infected children. METHODS: A nested case-control study was conducted with clinical data collected from 101 HIV-infected children [26 TF and 75 treatment success (TS)] at National Hospital of Pediatrics, Vietnam (2008-2012). RESULTS: The results showed that certain factors including height, weight, vaccination with Hepatitis B, and platelet were significantly different between TF and TS before starting the treatment. In addition, age to start the treatment, CD4 percentage, and opportunistic infection were found to significantly predict treatment outcome most frequently, implying the importance of clinical markers in the treatment response by Cox regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS: There is an inherent complexity within clinical markers that is challenging to determine HIV-pediatric failure and further research is needed to build a complete picture to guide clinical, evidence-based practice.