Knowledge and Perceptions of Influenza Vaccinations Among College Students in Vietnam and the United States / 예방의학회지

OBJECTIVES: Influenza is a significant worldwide public health issue. Knowledge and perceptions regarding the flu vaccination are associated with whether individuals obtain the vaccination. The purpose of this study was to examine how such perceptions were related to knowledge and self-efficacy regarding influenza and the flu vaccination in Vietnam and the US. METHODS: College students (n=932) in Vietnam (n=495) and the US (n=437) completed a self-administered survey regarding knowledge and perceptions of influenza vaccinations in September and October 2016. RESULTS: Vietnamese participants reported significantly lower levels of awareness about flu risk, higher levels of negative attitudes toward flu vaccination, lower levels of knowledge about the flu and vaccination, and lower levels of self-efficacy than US participants. Higher levels of flu and flu vaccination knowledge and self-efficacy regarding general responsible health practices were associated with lower levels of negative perceptions of flu risk and attitudes toward vaccination. At the same time, self-efficacy regarding responsible health practices was associated with higher levels of awareness of flu risk and lower levels of negative attitudes toward vaccination. Self-efficacy regarding exercise was associated with lower levels of perceptions of flu risk and higher levels of negative attitudes toward vaccination. CONCLUSIONS: Vietnam could benefit from influenza education based on this comparison with the US. In both countries, knowledge and self-efficacy were found to be important factors influencing perceptions of influenza risk and vaccination.

Penetrating apex cardiac trauma

Penetrating cardiac trauma is a medical emergency and should be managed as soon as possible. There are some different causes of cardiothoracic injury, which gun and stab wounds are the most important direct cause of penetrating cardiac trauma. Depending on the wound size, penetrating cardiac trauma causes different clinical manifestations. Small stab wounds lead to cardiac tamponade, meanwhile severe hemorrhage and shock are reported for gun wounds. A 45 years old man was admitted with complaints of dyspnea, weakness and severe hemorrhage during a dispute. There were two wounds on the thorax the first wound was in 5th intercostal space at left mid clavicle and the second was in 10th intercostal space at left mid axillary. Breath sounds were going to diminish in the left base. After performing CPR in emergency room, the patient was sent to operation room immediately. In operation room a left thoracotomy was performed. There was a bleeding area on apex. Apex rupture and pericardial rupture were repaired and bleeding was controlled. After 48 hours echocardiography and chest x-rays were normal and the patient was discharged in good conditions after 7 days

frequency of recurrence in primary hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage

Primary intracerebral Hemorrhage [PICH] is a devasting illness with high early mortality which causes 10 -12 percent of stroke cases. Survivors of PICH are at risk for recurrence of hemorrhage. We wanted to determine the frequency of recurrence of ICH in patients with PICH at Alzahra and Noor hospital Isfahan, Iran. A descriptive retrospective study was did on the hospital records of patients with a discharge diagnosis of intracerebral hemorrhage to identify the cases. Data were gathered by means of a check list and were analysed by using SPSS statistical software. A total number of 660 cases were identified by computer search. After abstraction, 400 patients with primary hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage were identified. Widespread distribution of recurrence of ICH were 65 cases which 33 cases of them were men and 32 cases were women. Totally, 16 .25 percent of patients had recurrence which is greater risk of recurrence in comparison to other studies

Methylphenidate rehabilitation effect in severe head injury

Background: annually, millions of people are affected by traumatic brain injuries which cause long - lasting sequels such as cognitive or motor system dysfunctions. Methylphenidate, a neurostimulant drug, has been proposed as a therapeutic agent in brain injuries. Unlike previous reports, new studies have shown more benefits from its use in traumatic brain injuries. This clinical trial was going to define the value of methylphenidate use in the treatment of traumatic brain injuries

Methods: a double blind, randomized clinical trial was implemented. 60 patients, hospitalized in Intensive Care Units, were randomly put into treatment and control groups. In the treatment group, methylphenidate was administered 5 mg daily, from day 5 to 9 of their hospitalization and 10 mg daily thereafter. Normal Saline was administered as placebo to control patients. All the patients were followed by monitoring these parameters: vital signs, Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] and brain function. Physicians, who were responsible for patients' monitoring, did not know patients' status of drug reception [drug or placebo]

Results: during the first day GCS in the treated group was 5.43 +/-1.52 and in the control patients was 5.37+/-1.30 [P = 0.87]. After 14 days, GCS was 14 +/- 0.66 and 10.37 +/- 2.13 in treated and control patients, respectively [P < 0.05]

Conclusion: this study confirmed the results of similar recent studies done during the past 5 years. They found improved brain functions using methylphenidate in traumatic brain injuries