Sleep Disorders in Patients with Severe COVID-19 Treated in the Intensive Care Unit: A Real-Life Descriptive Study in Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with sleep disorders may be at greater risk for respiratory exacerbation or death compared to those without. After being infected with COVID-19, patients have many symptoms related to sleep disorders, especially those with severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. This study aimed to evaluate sleep disturbances in patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 infection who were treated in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). METHODS: This cross-sectional study used the questionnaire provided by the Vietnam Sleep Disorder Study (ViSDiS) research, elaborated by the Vietnam Society of Sleep Medicine (VSSM). Seventy-seven COVID-19 patients were included. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in sleep status before and after SARS-CoV-2 infection among participants. Up to 83% of them reported experiencing insomnia after illness, 60% reported having frequent nightmares, and more than half of participants reported nocturia (p < 0.0001). More than 81.8% of patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 infection were unsatisfied with their sleep quality during hospitalization After SARS-CoV-2 infection, only 2.6% of participants felt they had good quality sleep (p < 0.0001). The majority of patients suffered from fatigue after SARS-CoV-2 infection, including a lack of energy, feeling heaviness in their limbs, aggravation of pre-existing sleep disorders, idleness, constant fatigue throughout the day, and difficulty concentrating. CONCLUSION: Sleep problems are highly prevalence among hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 in the ICU. Healthcare providers should pay attention to sleep problems and their associated symptoms to initiate appropriate treatment to improve severe COVID-19 patients' health status and minimize the risk of death.

Stress and sleep quality in medical students: a cross-sectional study from Vietnam.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant global social and economic disruptions, as well as changes in personal attitude and behavior. The purpose of this research is to assess the sleep quality and stress levels of medical students. Method: Data was collected from medical students over the course of a month in 2021. A total of 4,677 students at the University of Medicine Pham Ngoc Thach were invited to complete an anonymous web-based survey, which included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Questionnaire Index (PSQI) for measuring sleep quality and the COVID-19 Student Stress Questionnaire (CSSQ) for evaluating stress. Results: A total of 1,502 students participated in our survey. More than half of the participants exhibited poor quality of sleep as indicated by their PSQI score. Many students reported going to bed after midnight and spending time on their smartphones. Among the students surveyed, 21.84% experienced low levels of stress (CSSQ ≤6), 63.38% had mild stress (7 ≤ CSSQ score ≤ 14), 14.78% reported high levels of stress (CSSQ >14). Conclusion: This study showed a high prevalence of poor sleep quality in the surveyed students, which could be attributed to changes in their behavior following the COVID-19 outbreak. Mild stress was also frequently observed, and it may be related to sleep disorders in this population. These important findings provide valuable insights for making recommendations, including lifestyle modifications to improve sleep quality.

Predictive Factors of Mortality in Patients with Severe COVID-19 Treated in the Intensive Care Unit: A Single-Center Study in Vietnam.

INTRODUCTION: The fourth outbreak of COVID-19 with the delta variant in Vietnam was very fierce due to the limited availability of vaccines and the lack of healthcare resources. During that period, the high mortality of patients with severe and critical COVID-19 caused many concerns for the health system, especially the intensive care units. This study aimed to analyze the predictive factors of death and survival in patients with severe and critical COVID-19. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional and descriptive study on 151 patients with severe and critical COVID-19 hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit of Binh Duong General Hospital. RESULTS: Common clinical symptoms of severe and critical COVID-19 included shortness of breath (97.4%), fatigue (89.4%), cough (76.8%), chest pain (47.7%), loss of smell (48.3%), loss of taste (39.1%), and headache (21.2%). The abnormal biochemical features were leukopenia (2.1%), anemia, thrombocytopenia (18%), hypoxia with low PaO2 (34.6%), hypocapnia with reduced PaCO2 (29.6%), and blood acidosis (18.4%). Common complications during hospitalization were septic shock (15.2%), cardiogenic shock (5.3%), and embolism (2.6%). The predictive factors of death were being female, age > 65 years, cardiovascular comorbidity, thrombocytopenia (< 137.109/l), and hypoxia at inclusion or after the first week or blood acidosis (pH < 7.28). The use of a high dose of corticosteroids reduced the mortality during the first 3 weeks of hospitalization but significantly increased risk of death after 3 and 4 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Common clinical symptoms, laboratory features, and death-related complications of critical and severe COVID-19 patients were found in Vietnamese patients during the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of this study provide new insight into the predictive factors of mortality for patients with severe and critical COVID-19.

Guillain-Barré Syndrome due to COVID-19 Vero Cell Vaccination Associated with Concomitant COVID-19 Infection-induced ARDS and Treated Successfully by Therapeutic Plasma Exchange: A First Case Report from Vietnam.

Post-vaccination adverse reactions have been reported with varying symptoms and severity owing to research and production time pressures during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In this article, we report a rare case of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in a patient with COVID-19 with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) after receiving Sinopharm's Vero Cell vaccine (China). The patient who was initially negative for COVID-19 was diagnosed with GBS based on paralysis that developed from the lower extremities to the upper extremities, as confirmed by cytoalbuminologic dissociation in the cerebrospinal fluid. The patient's condition worsened with ARDS caused by COVID-19 infection during the hospital stay, and SpO2 decreased to 83% while receiving oxygen through a non-rebreather mask (15 l/min) on day 6. The patient was treated with standard therapy for severe COVID-19, invasive mechanical ventilation, and five cycles of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) with 5% albumin replacement on day 11 due to severe progression. The patient was weaned off the ventilator on day 28, discharged on day 42, and was completely healthy after 6 months without any neurological sequelae until now. Our report showed the potential of TPE for GBS treatment in critically ill patients with COVID-19 after COVID-19 vaccination.

Sleep apnea in people with Down syndrome: Causes and effects of physical activity?

Poor sleep quality is recognized as a major risk factor for poor health, increasing the incidence of serious chronic diseases. In people with Down syndrome, sleep apnea prevalence is significantly greater, it is caused by genetic, anatomical, endocrine, and metabolic abnormalities. The consequences of sleep disruption due to sleep apnea are very serious, especially in terms of neurocognitive and cardiovascular effects, leading to reduced life expectancy and quality of life in this population. However, the management, care, and treatment of related disorders in people with Down syndrome are still inadequate and limited. Therefore, this article wants to increase understanding and awareness about sleep apnea and the benefits of physical activity in improving sleep quality in the Down syndrome community, families, and their care specialists.

Personalized Medicine and Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common disease that is often under-diagnosed and under-treated in all ages. This is due to differences in morphology, diversity in clinical phenotypes, and differences in diagnosis and treatment of OSA in children and adults, even among individuals of the same age. Therefore, a personalized medicine approach to diagnosis and treatment of OSA is necessary for physicians in clinical practice. In children and adults without serious underlying medical conditions, polysomnography at sleep labs may be an inappropriate and inconvenient testing modality compared to home sleep apnea testing. In addition, the apnea-hypopnea index should not be considered as a single parameter for making treatment decisions. Thus, the treatment of OSA should be personalized and based on individual tolerance to sleep-quality-related parameters measured by the microarousal index, harmful effects of OSA on the cardiovascular system related to severe hypoxia, and patients' comorbidities. The current treatment options for OSA include lifestyle modification, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, oral appliance, surgery, and other alternative treatments. CPAP therapy has been recommended as a cornerstone treatment for moderate-to-severe OSA in adults. However, not all patients can afford or tolerate CPAP therapy. This narrative review seeks to describe the current concepts and relevant approaches towards personalized management of patients with OSA, according to pathophysiology, cluster analysis of clinical characteristics, adequate combined therapy, and the consideration of patients' expectations.

Psychological distress mediates the connection between sleep deprivation and physical fighting in adolescents.

Lack of sleep is common in adolescence, and represents an important threat to adolescents' well-being, academic commitment, and general health. It also has significant behavioral consequences through an increased likelihood of interpersonal violence. Previous studies have demonstrated an association between aggressive behavior and lack of sleep, but the psychological mediators remain completely unexplored. Grounded in the General Aggression Model, we investigated the affective pathway as one of the potential mechanisms linking lack of sleep and aggression. We hypothesized and showed that psychological distress is an intermediary phenomenon linking lack of sleep and physical aggression. Based on a school sample of 11,912 participants (median age: 14.5), we observed that 23.7% of the young people admitted having been involved in physical fighting on one or more occasions, and that 25.81% were in sleep debt when referred for medical assessment. We analyzed the relationship between sleep duration and physical fighting and the mediating link of psychological distress by performing multiple regressions in the components' paths. The results showed that the adolescents' amount of sleep appeared to be a significant predictor of physical fighting, and that this relationship was partially mediated by psychological distress. These results are consistent with the General Aggression Model, and represent the first empirical confirmation that psychological distress symptoms partially mediate the connection between lack of sleep and physical aggression.

Open-source LIMS in Vietnam: The path toward sustainability and host country ownership.

OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this case report are as follows: to describe the process of establishing a national laboratory information management system (LIMS) program for clinical and public health laboratories in Vietnam; to evaluate the outcomes and lessons learned; and to present a model for sustainability based on the program outcomes that could be applied to diverse laboratory programs. METHODS: This case report comprises a review of program documentation and records, including planning and budgetary records of the donor, monthly reports from the implementer, direct observation, and ad-hoc field reports from technical advisors and governmental agencies. Additional data on program efficacy and user acceptance were collected from routine monitoring of laboratory policies and operational practices. RESULTS: LIMS software was implemented at 38 hospital, public health and HIV testing laboratories in Vietnam. This LIMS was accepted by users and program managers as a useful tool to support laboratory processes. Implementation cost per laboratory and average duration of deployment decreased over time, and project stakeholders initiated transition of financing (from the donor to local institutions) and of system maintenance functions (from the implementer to governmental and site-level staff). Collaboration between the implementer in Vietnam and the global LIMS user community was strongly established, and knowledge was successfully transferred to staff within Vietnam. CONCLUSION: Implementing open-sourced LIMS with local development and support was a feasible approach towards establishing a sustainable laboratory informatics program that met the needs of health laboratories in Vietnam. Further effort to institutionalize IT support capacity within key government agencies is ongoing.

Supraventricular Tachycardia in a Patient with an Interrupted Inferior Vena Cava.

The noncoronary cusp and aortomitral continuity should be evaluated for early atrial activation when atrial tachycardias are noted to arise near the His bundle region, especially when the activation is diffuse around the His and when the P-wave morphology predicts a left atrial focus. In patients with congenital anomalies, alternate routes for catheter position need to be explored, including retrograde access for left atrial tachycardias and positioning of intracardiac echocardiography in the azygous vein for visualization of intracardiac structures. Consideration of remote magnetic navigation, if available, is another approach.

Ventricular Tachycardia in a Patient with Biventricular Noncompaction.

Patients with ventricular noncompaction are susceptible to developing ventricular tachycardia. Commonly, the origin of ventricular tachycardia is endocardial; however, epicardial origins and scar cannot be excluded and should be considered when poor endocardial mapping is present. Other cardiomyopathies, such as arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, can coexist with ventricular noncompaction and should be excluded in these patients.

Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation in a Patient with a Mechanical Mitral Valve.

Clinicians must be mindful of the left ventricular lead when cannulating the coronary sinus with a decapolar catheter or an ablation catheter. Left atrial catheter ablation for the treatment of atrial fibrillation in patients with a mechanical mitral valve, when approached carefully, can be performed safely and effectively. Block across linear lines should be confirmed using differential activation and/or differential pacing to decrease risks of proarrhythmias.

Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Without Pulmonary Vein Isolation in a Patient with Fontan Palliation.

In a patient with Fontan palliation and persistent atrial fibrillation two triggers were identified that initiated atrial fibrillation (AF) from the superior vena cava (SVC) and the right atrium. SVC triggers are more common in patients with a normal-sized left atrium. Eliminating these triggers prevented AF from being sustained in this patient and thus pulmonary vein isolation was not pursued. The patient has remained AF free for 3 years without medications or repeat ablation. Targeting of potential right-sided triggers for AF ablation, before pulmonary vein isolation, should be considered; such an approach may reduce risks in these complex patients.

A Case of Cough-induced Ventricular Tachycardia in a Patient with a Left Ventricular Assist Device.

In this case, the patient's ventricular tachycardia (VT) was specifically induced by coughing, which has not previously been described. Decreasing the rotational speed of the left ventricular assist device (LVAD) and increasing preload by stopping the patient's nitrates and reducing diuretic dose allowed improved filling of the left ventricle (LV) and increased LV volumes. When coughing recurred, the effects on the LV cavity were less pronounced and thus VT was reduced. Although ventricular arrhythmias are common after LVAD placement, this is a unique case in which VT was caused by coughing, which is ordinarily not considered arrhythmogenic.

An Approach to Endovascular Ventricular Pacing in a Patient with Ebstein Anomaly and a Mechanical Tricuspid Valve.

In the presence of a mechanical tricuspid valve, endocardial right ventricular pacing is contraindicated, and permanent pacing is usually achieved via a surgically implanted epicardial lead. In a patient with Ebstein anomaly, a mechanical tricuspid valve, and complete heart block, transvenous pacing was achieved by implantation of a pace-sense lead in a coronary sinus ventricular branch. Noninvasive cardiac imaging can provide information regarding anatomic variation in patients with congenital heart disease or when there are challenges to lead placement. With careful planning and execution, endovascular pacing in patients with a mechanical tricuspid valve is feasible and can safely be performed.

Slow Pathway Modification in a Patient with D-Transposition of the Great Arteries and Atrial Switch Procedure.

Patients with systemic right ventricles are often not able to tolerate frequent, rapid, or incessant atrial arrhythmias without developing significant symptoms and ventricular dysfunction. Atrial arrhythmias are associated with an increased risk of ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Rhythm disturbances must be aggressively addressed in this population with frequent screening, follow-up, and treatment.

Intra-atrial Reentrant Tachycardia in Complete Transposition of the Great Arteries Without Femoral Venous Access.

Catheter ablation for patients with transposition of the great arteries (d-TGA) requires multiple considerations and careful preprocedural planning. Knowledge of the patient's anatomy and surgical correction, in addition to electroanatomic mapping and entrainment maneuvers, are important to identify and successfully treat arrhythmias. This case was unique in that the lack of femoral venous access required transhepatic venous access and bidirectional block was attained with ablation lesions along the cavotricuspid isthmus on both sides of the baffle.

Ventricular Tachycardia in Congenital Pulmonary Stenosis.

With modern surgical techniques, there is significantly increased life expectancy for those with congenital heart disease. Although congenital pulmonary valve stenosis is not as complex as tetralogy of Fallot, there are many similarities between the 2 lesions, such that patients with either of these conditions are at risk for ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Those patients who have undergone surgical palliation for congenital pulmonary stenosis are at an increased risk for development of ventricular arrhythmias and may benefit from a more aggressive evaluation for symptoms of palpitations or syncope.