How knowledge of hepatitis B disease and vaccine influences vaccination practices among parents in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Objective: To assess the influences of the knowledge of parents about hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and the benefit of HBV vaccination on the practice of HBV vaccination among children. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study recruited parents whose children, aged 12-24 months, received HBV vaccination at Commune Health Centers (CHCs) in Ho Chi Minh City from Feb. 2016 to Jul. 2017. Parents were interviewed using a questionnaire that included 11-item binary knowledge questions and checked their children's vaccination cards. Results: A total of 768 parents had a mean age of (30.8±5.1) years. The mean knowledge score of the 11- item questions was (7.0±2.4). The knowledge score was positively associated with full and timely HBV vaccination. In addition, children who received complete and timely HBV vaccination were significantly more likely to live in rural areas (Adjusted OR 4.02, 95% CI 2.79-5.79, P<0.001). Also, children whose parents received vaccination information from health care providers, and had knowledge about HBV risk, had a higher rate of full and timely HBV vaccination (Adjusted OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.13-2.29, and Adjusted OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.01-2.13, P all<0.05). Conclusions: Parents possessed a great deal of incorrect knowledge about HBV. More health education from health care providers should target parents living in specific locations and focus on the benefits of HBV vaccine.

Does conventional freezing affect sperm DNA fragmentation? / 대한생식의학회지

OBJECTIVE: Sperm cryopreservation has been widely used in assisted reproductive technology, as it offers great potential for the treatment of some types of male infertility. However, cryopreservation may result in changes in membrane lipid composition and acrosome status, as well as reductions in sperm motility and viability. This study aimed to evaluate sperm DNA fragmentation damage caused by conventional freezing using the sperm chromatin dispersion test. METHODS: In total, 120 fresh human semen samples were frozen by conventional methods, using SpermFreeze Solution as a cryoprotectant. Routine semen analysis and a Halosperm test (using the Halosperm kit) were performed on each sample before freezing and after thawing. Semen parameters and sperm DNA fragmentation were compared between these groups. RESULTS: There was a significant decrease in sperm progressive motility, viability, and normal morphology after conventional freezing (32.78%, 79.58%, and 3.87% vs. 16%, 55.99%, and 2.55%, respectively). The sperm head, midpiece, and tail defect rate increased slightly after freezing. Furthermore, the DNA fragmentation index (DFI) was significantly higher after thawing than before freezing (19.21% prior to freezing vs. 22.23% after thawing). Significant increases in the DFI after cryopreservation were observed in samples with both normal and abnormal motility and morphology, as well as in those with normal viability. CONCLUSION: Conventional freezing seems to damage some sperm parameters, in particular causing a reduction in sperm DNA integrity.

Ovarian adenocarcinoma in twin pregnancy

This is the first time a case of ovarian adenocarcinoma was diagnosed in a twin pregnant woman at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of HuÕ Central Hospital. The incidence of ovarian cancer during pregnancy is approximately 1 to 25000 pregnancies. About 70 cases of ovarian adenocarcinoma during pregnancy have been reported. to our knowledge, this is the first report of poorly differentiated papillary serious adenocarcinoma in twin pregnancy. Overall, the ovarian adenocarcinoma has poor prognosis. It is necessary to enhance the primary health care system to detect the disease at the earlier stage, obtain better treatment result and improve the prognosis. The maternal prognosis depends solely on the extension of the tumor. The fetal prognosis is poor during the first six months of pregnancy, especially if the tumor is advanced of progressive. The wishes of the parents and their family should be taken into account when making therapeutic decision for these cases.

Changes in antibody level after hepatitis B vaccination

The study was conducted from 12/2000 to 12/ 2001 on 1997 medical students at Hå ChÝ Minh City Medico-Pharmaceutical University. 117 students who were negative with HBsAg, anti-HBs and anti-HBc were vaccinated with Merck Sharp & Dohm-produced vaccine. Three consecutive doses of 10mcg vaccine were delivered at 0, 1 and 6 months. Anti-HBs antibody was measured at 7 and 8 months of the study. It was noted that the second antibody titer was the third of first one. In the first assessment all participants had the antibody at protective level (i.e. 10mUI/ml or more), with mean titer was 789±304mUI/ml. 98.1% (105/107) of cases had anti-HBs level of 100mUI/ml or more, and 62.6% (67/107) of cases had reached the level of 1000mUI/ml or more. By 18 months, the mean antibody titer level was 248±209mUI/ml. The frequency distribution of anti-HBs level of 0mUI/ml, £10mUI/ml, 10 to £100mUI/ml, 100 to £1000mUI/ml and ³ 1000mUI/ml was 0 (0%), 1(0.9%), 5(4.7%), 35(32.7%), 59(55.1%) and 7(6.5%), respectively. The difference between two titer measures was statistical significant with p<0.001. However, there was no difference titers of male students (p=0.69) and female students (p=0.24). After 18 months of vaccination, there was only one acquired HBV case with anti-HBc (+) but had no clinical manifestation. No carrier was detected.