Non-surgical chronic rhinosinusitis and quality of life: A Vietnamese perspective.

OBJECTIVE: Evidences which illustrate symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) had negative effects on society and individuals are growing these days. The aims of this study are to assess the quality of life (QoL) of individuals with CRS and to analyze the relationship between socio-demographic as well as clinical factors and the quality of life of patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional and prevalence-based study was conducted from May to July, 2018. We used The Sinonasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22) questionnaire to evaluate the quality of life of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. In addition, the univariate logistic regression analysis and logistic regression models were used to calculate the Crude odds ratio (OR), adjusted odds ratio (aOR), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for factors. Statistical significance was considered as P-value <0.05. RESULTS: Among 315 participants, about two fifths of them were diagnosed with CRS. The statistical test illustrated that all factors illustrated significant differences. The main exposure variable, CRS, was significantly associated with poor quality of life, with a 78.02-fold increase in the odds of having a good quality of life score. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings have shown that patients with CRS experience a poorer quality of life than healthy controls. The influencing factors included gender, economic status, exercise and nasal discharge.

Assessment of cost of illness and quality of life in chronic rhinosinusitis patients with surgical treatment.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a popular and tiring disease with significant impacts on the economy and on the Health-related Quality of Life (HRQOL) of patients. This study aims to estimate the cost of illness (COI) and to assess the Health-related Quality of Life (HRQOL) in patients with CRS who underwent surgery in Vietnam and to analyse the relationship between socio-demographic characteristics and the COI as well as the HRQOL. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Ear, Nose, Throat Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City (ENT Hospital HCMC), Vietnam between August and October 2018. The direct medical and non-medical costs, the indirect costs (productivity loss), and the HRQOL of patients with CRS were measured. A subjective assessment of quality of life (QOL) using EuroQol 5 Dimensions 5 Levels (EQ-5D-5L) was used to evaluate the health status of these patients after surgery. Characteristics related with the COI and the HRQOL were identified by multiple regression. RESULTS: A total of 264 inpatients with CRS participated in the study. The mean COI for inpatients with CRS was $812.83 and direct costs accounted for a major proportion (89.32%) of the total cost. In addition, the surgery represented the most significant direct medical cost with 58.57% of the total cost. Most of the patients reported no problems with mobility (89.1%), self-care (93.9%), usual activities (77.2%), and anxiety/depression (64.0%). The mean EQ-5D-5L utility score was 0.76 (SD = 0.17), and the mean Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS) score was 76.57 (SD = 13.34). The results of multiple regression showed that gender, occupations, monthly income, prior surgery and family history of CRS affected the total cost while the HRQOL of patients were related to education, smoking behaviour, exercise behaviour and family history of CRS. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that although endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) accounted for the largest expense in the COI, this surgical treatment helped to improve the HRQOL in patients with CRS. The findings provided a reference for policy makers in CRS management as well as for adjustment of costs for patients so as to reduce disease burden and to enhance their QOL.

Dengue fever in Southern of Vietnam: A survey of reported knowledge, attitudes, and practices.

OBJECTIVE: Dengue fever (DF) is an acute infectious disease with high incidence in tropical countries, such as Vietnam, where dengue prevention is a challenge for the health sector, government, and policy makers. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices in southern Vietnam and explore their relationships with the characteristics of the people. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted, using interviews with 1,906 urban participants and 493 rural participants in southern Vietnam in July 2018. RESULTS: The study found a lack of knowledge regarding DF symptoms, with only 37.2% having a good level of knowledge, although 57.1% had good attitudes and 56.1% had good practices. Television (85.4 %) and the internet (69.5%) were the two main sources of information, and information provided by healthcare professionals was low. Participants with good knowledge had approximately 1.7 times the probability of having a good attitude and 5.0 times the probability of having good practices of those without. Urban participants had 1.3 times the level of knowledge than those in rural areas (p = 0.025), while the quality of attitude scores of rural participants was 1.3 times (p = 0.029) that of urban participants. CONCLUSIONS: Improvements in knowledge of DF, as well as in attitudes and practices toward dengue, are required, such as might be achieved through increased publicity and knowledge dissemination.