Current pathophysiologic knowledge of achalasia suggests the important involvement of genetic predisposition. However, familial achalasia is very rare and most of the case reports in literature have shown an autosomal recessive pattern of inherence. We hereby report a case of familial achalasia with autosomal dominant pattern of inherence affecting ten members in three generations of a Vietnamese family.

Background and Objectives: Diarrhea is one of the first causes of morbidity and mortality among children, especially in poor and developing countries including Vietnam. For decades, although Vietnam has implemented different health interventions to suppress diarrhea spread, this disease has been continuously concerned as a national health problem. Hence, the aim of this study was to assess ethnic minority mothers’ knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) associated with diarrhea in children under 5 years old; Then to find out the correlation among KAP, and discover some factors related to good knowledge, positive attitude, correct practice about diarrhea in under 5-year old children of the mothers in Pediatrics Department of Daklak General Hospital, 2014.

Method: A community based cross-sectional study was carried out from September 2013 to July 2014 in Pediatrics Department - Daklak General Hospital with the participation of 153 ethnic mothers who has children with diarrhea. The mothers were interviewed directly following the questionnaire, whose structure was adapted from the World Health Organization (WHO) and author Hau Van Pham. The collected data were checked for completeness, consistency and then entered into Epidata 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS 20.

Results: The data from 153 participants showed that the ethnic mothers had good knowledge accounted for 39.9%, whereas more than half of ethnic mothers (64.7%) had a positive attitude towards prevention of diarrhea among under-five children. However, the correct practice in taking care of children with diarrhea was not high (40.5%). As expected, there was statistically significant correlation between the mothers’ knowledge and their attitudes (p < 0.001), as well as their practice toward diarrhea treatment (p=0.005). Analyzed data exhibited that knowledge of the mothers about diarrhea was influenced by their differences in socio-demographic factors, including educational level (p<0.001), occupation (p=0.002) and an ability to access information related to diarrhea in children under 5 (p<0.001). Similarly, the socio-demographic factor (p=0.028) and access to information about diarrhea (p<0.001) have an effect the correct practice in the prevention of diarrhea. There was a statistically significant correlation between the good practice in preventing diarrhea and the socio-demographic factor, including the mothers’ educational level (p<0.001) and the occupation (p=0.021).

Background and Objectives: Exam anxiety is a commonly seen problem among medical students. Auricular acupuncture has been shown to have an anxiety-reducing effect, however, data on exam anxiety is limited. Research in dental and preoperative anxiety has indicated that anxiety level could be reduced by using ear acupoints on the non-dominant side. Therefore, this study aims to determine whether needling at acupoints on the non-dominant side can reduce exam anxiety in medical students.

Method: This is a prospective observational study on 32 students at The Faculty of Traditional Medicine, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy. Eligible students received auricular acupuncture on the non-dominant side at the Master cerebral, Tranquilizer and Relaxation points. Levels of anxiety were measured using a visual analogue scale before and after the intervention as well as before the exam. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, heart rate, exam performance and adverse events occurring during the study were also collected.

Results: Exam anxiety level and heart rate decreased 30 minutes after auricular acupuncture (p<0.05). Before the exam, exam anxiety level and heart rate increased significantly compared to after the intervention but still lower than baseline (p<0.05). The exam anxiety level with heart rate at each time point did not differ significantly in gender and trait anxiety levels (p>0.05). No adverse events from auricular acupuncture were observed.

Conclusion: Auricular acupuncture at the Master cerebral, Tranquillizer and Relaxation points on the non-dominant side is effective in reducing exam anxiety in medical students.

In Vietnamese folk medicine, Bi ky nam (H. formicarum) tuber has been widely used to treat rheumatism, liver and intestinal diseases. This work aimed to study botanical, genetic characteristics and screening of the phytochemical constituents of wild H. formicarum of Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam. Anatomical characteristics of the plant material were described. Fresh leaves were used to analyze DNA barcodes based on rbcL region amplified by PCR. Sequences of DNA products were identified by Sanger method and BioEdit 7.0.5 software, then compared to the control rbcL sequences published in GenBank by BLAST. The tuber powder was studied for pharmacognostic parameters, preliminary phytochemical screening and total phenolic contents by Folin-Ciocalteu method. Results showed that the similarity between the rbcL sequences of H. formicarum leaves collected in Phu Quoc and the control one published in Genbank was 99%. Moisture content, total ash value and acid insoluble ash value of dried tuber powder were 11.06%, 9.60% and 0.70%, respectively. Raw material contained carotenoids, triterpenoids, flavonoids, phenolics, tannins, saponins, reducing substances and amino acids. Total phenolics content was about 58.847 mg pyrrogallol equivalent/g dried powder weight. Our results provided information about botanical, genetic and preliminary phytochemical characteristics of H. formicarum growing on Phu Quoc Island. This could be useful for the authentication of H. formicarum as a medicinal material.

Background: The study aimed to culturally adapt and validate Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) for use in Vietnamese settings.

Methods: The original NIPS was translated into Vietnamese using a standard protocol. Registered nurses of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Tien Giang General Hospital, Vietnam used the Vietnamese NIPS for assessing neonatal pain and then provided feedback on acceptability of the scale. Five registered nurses of NICU were randomly selected and used NIPS for assessing neonatal pain while watching thirty videos at two times, two weeks apart from each other. Pulse rates per minute and oxygen saturation (SpO₂) were also recorded for validity evaluation. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) with two-way random effects were applied to assess intra-rater and inter-rater reliability. Multilevel linear regression was applied to assess the association between NIPS score with pulse rates and SpO₂ adjusting for raters, three periods and two assessments.

Results: The Vietnamese NIPS was accepted and valued by nurses at the NICU. ICCs between the first and second assessments were from 0.53 to 1.00 for five raters before, during and after clinical procedures showing moderate to excellent intra-rater reliability. ICCs among five raters were moderate to good before and after, but poor (ICC<0.4) during clinical procedures. NIPS score was not associated with SpO₂, but with pulse rates per minute.

Conclusions: The preliminary results showed that the Vietnamese version of NIPS is reliable and should be used. However, it is recommended that further research should be conducted to confirm its reliability and validity.