Science & Technology Development Journal - Health Sciences

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on female fertility and pregnancy

2021-11-06T09:29:43+00:00

SARS-CoV-2 is a causative agent of an enormous pandemic, initiated from Wuhan, China in 2019 and then spread around the world. This virus infects not only the human respiratory tract but also other organs such as the heart, kidneys, testis, etc. by interacting with ACE2 and TMPRSS2 proteins. Until now, evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infectability in women’s reproductive tract, zygotes, embryos, and risk of vertical transmission is limited. Furthermore, some results from several studies are still incompatible. Cells of women’s reproductive system may have less susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2. However, human oocytes and embryos may be more vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 because of the difference in co-expression of two transmembrane proteins - ACE2 and TMPRSS2, in those cells. SARS-CoV-2 increases the risk of negative impacts on different levels in different stages of pregnancy, as well as has a potential risk of vertical transmission. The recent evidence suggests that we need to pay more attention to taking care of SARS-CoV-2 infected pregnant women, especially in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Stepwise approach in the management of oral lichen planus

2021-08-15T09:03:16+00:00

Lichen planus is a chronic inflammatory disease in the skin, hair, nails, and mucous membranes. Like in other sites, oral lichen planus (OLP) includes asymptomatic and flare-up or symptomatic periods. The symptomatic period is characterized by erosive, ulcerative, or painful symptoms. In addition, some lesions may have potentially malignant transformation. Despite many molecular-based studies, the OLP etiology is still unclear. Hence, there is no gold-standard therapy for OLP so far. The management of symptomatic lesions is based on each individual’s clinical features, and treatment outcomes are often unpredictable. That explains why most dentists are not confident in dealing with this disease. Nevertheless, there is a consensus among the majority of authors that the pathogenesis of OLP, as an immune-mediated disease, is related to T-lymphocyte immunological dysfunction. Medical treatment, using immunosuppressant therapies or immunomodulators, aims (1) to alleviate painful symptoms, (2) to heal the ulcerative and atrophic lesions, (3) to reduce the risk of malignant transformation, and (4) to prolong the symptom‑free intervals. This review article aims to synthesize current literature evidence and integrate the authors’ experience in suggesting a stepwise approach to manage OLP patients.

Using sodium dithionite as a reducing agent in the synthesis of propacetamol hydrochroride from phenol

2021-07-13T04:20:41+00:00

Propacetamol, a prodrug form of paracetamol, is used in injections for fast and effective pain relief. Propacetamol is water soluble and is used in postoperative care as well as intravenous administration in case the patients cannot take oral or rectal paracetamol. Studies on propacetamol synthesis at laboratory scale as well as industrial scale with safe, simple and economic procedures are crucial. In this study, we synthesized propacetamol from phenol as the starting material. In the first step, phenol was converted to p-nitrosophenol through a nitrosation process. This nitrosation reaction yielded the optimal result as the reaction selectively occured, the product was not plasticized. Next, p-nitrosophenol was reduced to p-aminophenol in the presence of sodium dithionite as the reducing agent. The reaction produced p-aminophenol at a yield of 89,6% with high selectivity and less impurity. After that, paracetamol was obtained through acetylation of p-aminophenol. Ochloroacetylation of paracetamol was performed by using the amount of diethylamine reduced by 2,5 times compared to previous studies to form 4-acetamidophenyl-2-chloroacetate in 85,5% yield. This intermediate was then alkylated to form propacetamol base, followed by treatment with HCl solution in acetone at low temperature to obtain propacetamol hydrochloride in 32,5% yield. The study has shown that propacetamol hydrochloride was successfully achieved with high efficiency and safety from phenol as the starting compound.

Clinical efficacy of enamel matrix derivative in treatment of periodontal intra-bony defects

2021-07-15T09:33:27+00:00

Objective: This study aimed at evaluating the efficacy of enamel matrix derivative (EMD) in the treatment of posterior lower intrabony defects resulted from periodontitis. Method: This split-mouth, randomized clinical trial was conducted on 15 patients with 30 posterior lower teeth with bilateral symmetrical IBD lesions which were randomly assigned into two groups: open flap debridement with EMD (OFD+EMD) and without EMD (OFD). Clinical periodontal parameters were recorded at baseline, 3 and 6 post-operative months, including the plaque index (PlI); gingival index (GI); periodontal pocket depth (PPD); clinical attachment loss (CAL) and gingival recession (GR). Results: In each group, PlI, GI, PPD, CAL decreased significantly (p <0.05) after 3 and 6 postoperative months compared to baseline. Between the two treatment groups, PPD, CAL, and GR in the OFD + EMD group were significantly lower (p <0.001) compared to the OFD group after 3 and 6 post-operative months. Conclusion: The adjunctive use of EMD enhances the efficiency of OFD in treatment of periodontal intra-bony defects because reducing periodontal pocket depth, clinical attachment loss, and gingival recession.

Comparison of platelet rich fibrin and guided tissue regeneration in the treatment of periodontal intrabony defects

2021-07-15T09:30:19+00:00

Aim: To compare the outcomes of the treatment of periodontal intrabony defects with platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) combined with open-flap debridement (OFD) and guided tissue regeneration (GTR). Material and method: Thirty individuals with a total of 60 intrabony defects were randomly assigned to one of the 2 treatment groups: group 1 (n=30): OFD combined with PRF and group 2 (n=30): guided tissue regeneration with collagen membrane. Clinical parameters, including the plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), bleeding on probing (BOP), probing depth (PD), clinical attachment loss (CAL), and tooth mobility (TM) were assessed at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months postsurgery. Radiographic parameters, including bony defect fill (BDF) and alveolar crestal resorption (ACR), were measured at baseline, 6 and 12 months postsurgery and calculated using Sopru imaging 2.38 software. The wound healing index (WHI) was assessed at 7 and 14 days postsurgery. Results : There was a statistically significant improvement in clinical periodontal and radiographic parameters at 6 and 12 months postsurgery in both groups. Between the two groups, the improvement of these parameters was similar, the difference was not statistically significant at 6 and 12 months postsurgery. Both groups had percentages of sites with the wound healing score of 1 between 81% and 100%, but group 1 had a significantly greater number than group 2 at 7 and 14 days postsurgery. Conclusion: latelet-rich fibrin combined with open-flap debridement and guided tissue regeneration with collagen membrane were similarly effective in treatment of periodontal intrabony defects. Using PRF improved better postoperative healing compared to guided tissue regeneration with collagen membrane.

Dental caries status and risk factors among 1–5-year-old children with cleft lip and palate

2021-07-23T23:23:48+00:00

Background: Dental caries is one of the most prevalent oral diseases, and especially more serious in people at risk such as children with cleft lip – palate. Understanding their oral status and the influencing factors will help in preventing tooth decay and improving dental health.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of dental caries and risk factors in children from 1 to 5 years old with cleft lip and palate.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 174 children from 1 to 5 years old with cleft lip and palate at the hospitals affiliatated with Odonto-Stomatology faculty, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City. After a child had been examined for dental caries, his or her father/mother was directly interviewed with a questionnaire to investigate factors affecting the condition of dental caries. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed using logistic regression.

Results: The prevalence of dental caries is 47.1%. The rate of caries in children aged 3-5 years is 3 times higher than that in children aged 1-5 (87.3% and 28.6%, respectively). The percentage of children with caries by geographic region has a statistically significant difference (p <0.05). The highest proportion of dental caries was found in children from the Mekong River Delta (Mekong Delta) (64.2%), the lowest one was those from the South Central Coast (43.5%). The oral hygiene method with gauze after bottle-feeding prevents dental caries 3.3 times better than other methods. Other factors such as cleft form, parents' educational level and socioeconomic status of the family have no effect on children's dental caries.

Conclusion: Children from 1 to 5 years old with cleft lip – palate had high prevalence of dental caries. Attention should be paid to bottle feeding time, oral hygiene method and frequency of sugar consumption to prevent dental caries.

Isolation and storage of Aggregatibacter actinomicetemcomitans from the subgingival plaque of patients with periodontitis

2021-08-05T02:09:44+00:00

Objective: To isolate and identification Aggregatibacter actinomicetemcomitans from clinical subgingival plaques of periodontitis patients. Methods: Selective media was prepared by adding 200 ug/mL of vancomycin and 10 U/mL of bacitracin, 5% sheep blood to Wilkins Chalgren Anaerobic agar. Subgingival samples collected from patients with moderate to severe periodontitis aged 18- 35 were used to recover Aa. The colony was then identified by the MALDI-TOF method and PCR analysis. Results: The Aa was successfully cultured and stored from a clinical sample of the 12th 25 years-old patient who had moderate aggressive periodontitis. Conclusion: Aa is a major putative oral pathogen and concerned with other systemic diseases. This pure bacterial culture will be helpful for other experimental studies in dental and medical areas.

The effect of platelet-rich fibrin in surgical treatment of periodontitis

2021-08-10T02:57:48+00:00

Aim: To examine the effect of platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) in surgical treatment of periodontitis.

Material and method: Thirty individuals with a total of 60 periodontal intrabony defects were randomly assigned to one of the 2 treatment groups including PRF group: PRF combined with open-flap debridement and control group (n=30): open-flap debridement alone (n=30). The wound healing index was assessed at 7 and 14 days postsurgery. The probing depth, clinical attachment loss, tooth mobility, bony defect fill and alveolar crestal resorption were examined and compared at baseline, 6, and 12 months postsurgery.

Results : There was a statistically significant improvement in probing depth, clinical attachment loss, tooth mobility, bony defect fill and alveolar crestal resorption at 6 and 12 months postsurgery in both groups. Between the two groups, the improvement of these parameters was significantly greater in PRF group than those in the control group. The number of healing sites with score 1 in the PRF group was significantly higher compared to the control group at 7 and 14 days postsurgery.

Conclusion: Compared to open-flap debridement alone, PRF combined with open-flap debridement results in significantly greater benefits in surgical treatment of periodontitis.

Preparation of cough syrup containing dextromethorphan HBr, promethazine HCl and preliminary assessment of formulation stability

2021-08-25T02:37:51+00:00

Cough is a popular symptom because of various causes, which lead to several inconveniences in life. Dextromethorphan and promethazine are two active ingredients commonly used in combination in the treatment of coughs with many advantages such as enhanced therapeutic efficiency, limiting drawbacks of each active ingredient, and being easy to use for special patients (children, dyspepsia,…). However, currently on the Vietnamese market, there are no combined preparations of these two substances, these products are only available in foreign countries. This research is done with the goal of the simple, suitable preparation process for a syrup containing dextromethorphan HBr 15 mg and promethazine HCl 6.25 mg in each 5 ml in Viet Nam. Inoculants are evaluated according to the in-house standard criteria and appropriate testing methods included physical properties, pH, density, microbial limit, alcohol concentration, qualitative and quantitative composition medicines. Study on the stability proved the syrup remained stable after 6 months at the storage condition of 40 +/- 2 ^oC and 75 +/- 5% relative humidity. Formulation and preparation procedure are used to study in larger batch sizes to apply to production.

The investigation of the level of activities of daily living by Katz index and related factors in elderly inpatients at department of cardiology of Thong Nhat hospital

2021-11-06T07:44:41+00:00

Background: Assessment of the level of Activities of Daily Living (ADL) in heart failure elderly inpatients is important factors in comprehensive geriatric caring.

Objectives: Investigating the level of activities of daily living in elderly inpatients at Department of Cardiology of Thong Nhat Hospital and age, gender and heart failure (HF) by Katz index.

Method: A cross-sectional study on 202 elderly inpatients (≥60 years old) treated at Department of Cardiology of Thong Nhat Hospital was assessed ADL by Katz index from 05/2020 to 05/2021.

Results: In general population, the proportions of independence, partial dependence, and complete dependence are 64.4%, 16.8%, and 18.8%, respectively. The dependency proportions (complete and partial) in 60-69 group, 70-79 group, ≥80 were 30.2%, 48.1% và 32.3% (p=0.003), correspondingly. Female patients had a higher rate than male patients (45.5% compared to 28.0%) (p=0.035). Patients with HF had a dependency rate of 55.1%, 27.8% higher than the group without HF (p=0.001).

Conclusions: The in dependence of ADL rate in elderly inpatients at Department of Cardiology, Thong Nhat Hospital is high. Patients in age group 70-79, female, with heart failure have a higher decline in ADL than the other group.

Study on improved protocol for the synthesis of propacetamol hydrocloride

2021-11-06T08:04:37+00:00

(4-Acetamidophenyl) 2-(diethylamino) acetate hydrochloride (propacetamol) is a prodrug of pacetaminophenol (paracetamol). Propacetamol is usually administered intravenously and has a rapid analgesic effect. Moreover, propacetamol is water soluble and is used in postoperative care when the patients cannot take oral or rectal p-acetaminophenol. Studies on propacetamol synthesis on laboratory scale as well as industrial scale with safe, simple and economic procedures are crucial. Over the last few years, a number of studies have been demonstrating the advantages of replacing the traditional heating methods with microwave irradiation. The improved procedure for synthesizing (4-acetamidophenyl) 2-(diethylamino) acetate hydrochloride with N-(4- hydroxyphenyl) acetamide as the starting material is described in this study. Reaction conditions including molar ratio, solvent, catalyst and reaction time were evaluated in order to enhance the synthesis performance. The structure of products obtained after each reaction were determined by using HPLC, MS and NMR methods. The results show a simple process and short reaction time for synthesis of propacetamol from p-acetaminophenol as the starting material. Additionally, the quality and purity of final products meet pharmaceutical standards and high total reaction yield is achieved through the application of microwaves with the suitable catalysts and organic solvents.

Prevalence of gestational diabetes and related factors of pregnant women having prenatal care at Tu Du hospital in 2020

2021-11-06T08:22:42+00:00

Objective: Determine the prevalence of gestational diabetes and related factors of pregnant women having prenatal care at Tu Du hospital in 2020.

Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional study on 250 singleton pregnant women with gestational age from 24 to 28 weeks who had prenatal care at Tu Du hospital in 2020. All pregnant women were tested for oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) using the 2015 American Diabetes Association (ADA) criteria for diagnosis of gestational diabetes. Based on the structured questionnaire, we interviewed pregnant women about socioeconomic characteristics, diet and obstetrical history and got information for health status and OGTT in prenatal care records.

Results: The prevalence of gestational diabetes of pregnant women who came to Tu Du hospital for prenatal care in 2020 was 32%, 95% CI [26.3-38.2]. The related factors to gestational diabetes with statistical significance are: (1) BMI before pregnancy R=1.18, 95% CI [1.07- 1.31], p=0.001 (2) past history number of gestational diabetes R= 5.23, 95% CI [1.56-17.54], p= 0.005, (3) eating yogurt > 5 days/week, > 1 box/ day R=1.14, 95% CI [1.01-1.28], p=0.038.

Conclusions: Prevalence of gestational diabetes is 32%, which is a matter of great concern at the moment. There should be recommendations on a reasonable diet and closely monitored during pregnancy with particular emphasis on high risk pregnancy for pregnant women to reduce the risk of gestational diabetes.

Knowledge, attitudes, practices and barriers for implementation of preventing measures toward COVID-19 among residents of Tan Phu district, Ho Chi Minh city

2021-11-06T08:44:41+00:00

Objective: The study aims to investigate the correct knowledge, attitudes, practices, and barriers of residents who live in Tan Phu district, HCMC, toward COVID-19 prevention, during the pandemic.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study using data collected via in-person interviews with the prepared questionnaire, from 416 participants aged 18 years older living in Tan Phu district, HCMC from September to October 2020.

Results: In this study, the mean COVID-19 knowledge score was 8.40 1.25, more than 60% of participants had a positive, most of the participants had correct practice (>90%). There is a difference in the mean knowledge score among age groups, work status and marital status (p<0.05); There is a difference in attitude scores between age groups (p<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in practice scores between participants, and 8 barriers in COVID-19 prevention. The study also recorded 10 issues that people are concerned about in COVID-19 prevention and especially the number of infections - deaths cases(46.51%).

Conclusion: The proportion of people with the right knowledge, attitudes and practices about COVID-19 prevention is relatively high. Our finding suggests that health education communication should focus on COVID-19 prevention and treatment guidelines; promote the mass media, especially messages from the Ministry of Health or the Government.

The control of Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in the elderly at the clinic of health protective committee for high ranking cadre of Ca Mau province

2021-11-06T08:56:37+00:00

Background: Intensive control of low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) helps the elderly to prevent primary and secondary cardiovascular events. Objective: Study on the current status of LDL-C control in the elderly at the clinic of Health Protective Committee for High Ranking Cadre of Ca Mau province from November 2020 to January 2021 according to the 2019 European Society of Cardiology and European Atherosclerosis Society guidelines (ESC/EAS 2019).

Method: Study included 674 elderly people (≥60 years of age) at the clinic of Health Protective Committee for High Ranking Cadre of Ca Mau province. This was a cross-sectional study, which collected clinical information, medical history and measured the LDL-C serum concentration to classify the cardiovascular risk and the LDL-C control status.

Results: This study involved 554 males (82.20%) and 120 females (17.80%). The mean age was 69.28. The age group 60-69 accounted for the highest rate (59.35%). The proportion of the elderly with very high, high, and moderate cardiovascular risk factors according to the ESC/EAS 2019 classification was 34.27%, 44.36% and 21.37%, respectively. There was no one in the low-risk group. The achieving LDL-C target rate was 22.7%. The proportion of achieving LDL-C target in males and females was 21.48% and 28.33% (p=0.104), respectively. In the 60-69 years of age group, the proportion reached the LDL-C target was 23.25%, while the over 69 years old group reached 21.9% (p=0.681). Specific, according to the cardiovascular risk classification, the rate of elderly in the very high-risk group and the high-risk group who achieved LDL-C target was 12.99% and 18.06%, respectively, statistically significantly lower than the moderate-risk group reached 47.92 % (p<0.001).

Conclusion: The rate of reaching the LDL-C target following ESC/EAS 2019 guidelines of the elderly at the clinic of Health Protective Committee for High Ranking Cadre of Ca Mau province was relatively low. The rate of the elderly in moderate cardiovascular risk group had a higher percentage of LDL-C target achievement than those in the very high-risk and high-risk groups. There was no statistically significant between reaching LDL-C target with the age and sex.

Study on collagen type 11A1 and collagen type 4A1 expression in neuroblastoma

2021-11-14T21:34:49+00:00

Objective: Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common cause of solid cancer-related high death in children. Previous research shows that tumor microenvironment that involved Collagen that plays an important as heterogeneous role in its tumor microenvironment remodeling. However, less study has been described the collagen expression in the NB. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate the expression of two prominent collagens (COL11A1 and COL4A1) which can be express abnormally in the NB cancer cohort in Vietnam.

Method: We collect the plasma circulating NB tumor cells and biopsies from City Children Hospital HCM city. These samples were operated with droplet digital RT-PCR method to evaluate the mRNA expression of two collagen subtypes: COL11A1 and COL4A1 on five patient biopsies. Internal control is run with GAPDH. Characterisation of clinicopathological traits (such as: age, gender, histology, MYCN amplification and stages) is correlated with the relationship of COL11A1 and COL4A1 mRNA levels.

Results: The results largely confirmed the optimization of COL11A1 and COL4A1 primers and qualified products in droplet digital RT-PCR with internal GAPDH control. In addition, there is a higher COL11A1 mRNA expression in NB than in healthy control. Moreover, higher COL11A1 was significantly linear with high-risk classification (such as stage 3 or 4 comparing versus stage 1 or 2; MYCN amplification versus MYCN no amplification) in this cancer. In contrast, many of the associations between NB and COL4A1 were non-linear. Other clinicopathological traits (such as: age, gender, histology) did not show any significant differences for COL11A1 and COL4A1.

Conclusion: Altogether, this study confirms the COL11A1 could be a potential biomarker to evaluate the prognosis of NB disease. The integration of proteomic and genomic profiling should be added with larger cohort to address the value of COL11A1 in the future.

Application of the Beck Depression Inventory – II, Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale và Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index on student of School of Medicine – Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City: a pilot study

2021-11-15T20:28:42+00:00

Objective: The study aims to applicate of the Beck Depression Inventory - II (BDI-II), Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) on medical students.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 61 students of the School of Medicine - Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City from 17th to 20th June, 2021. The survey by self-completed questionnaires through Google Form. The survey questionnaire is made up 2 parts: Part 1 includes 4 questions to collect background information of research participants such as age, gender, school year, major of study; Part 2 includes 60 questions to assess 3 mental health problems: depression (including 21 questions), anxiety disorders (including 20 questions) and sleep disorders (including 19 questions and divided 7 sections).

Results: Our study surveyed 61 students of the School of Medicine - Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, aged from 19 to 25 years old (the average age of the participants recorded was 22.03 + 1.63). About ⅔ of the participants are female, the participants are relatively evenly distributed in all 3 majors currently training at the Faculty of Medicine in Ho Chi Minh City, including Medicine, Pharmacy and Odonto-Stomatology. The results of our study were noted: the BDI-II records the internal reliability coefficient of Cronbach's alpha is 0.86; The SAS records the internal reliability coefficient of Cronbach's alpha is 0.88 and the PSQI records the internal reliability coefficient of Cronbach's alpha is 0.63.

Conclusions: The BDI-II, SAS and PSQI show good reliability and consistency. Recommended for practical use in surveying depression, anxiety disorders and sleep disorders among medical students in Vietnam.

Validity and reliability of child oral health impact profile among Vietnamese children from 12 to 15 years old

2021-11-20T04:19:43+00:00

Background: Child Oral Health Impact Profile (COHIP) is a tool to evaluate the impact of oral health related to quality of life. However, there is no Vietnamese standardized COHIP version in Vietnam. This study assessed the validity and reliability of the Vietnamese version of COHIP questionnaire (COHIP-VIET) among Vietnamese children from 12 to 15 years old.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed in 853 children from 12 to 15 years old in Ho Chi Minh city from 5/2020 to 4/2021. The original English version of COHIP was translated into Vietnamese (COHIP-VIET) and then backward-translated into English by two dental specialists with certified English level. The COHIP-VIET was reviewed by a specialist committee and was pilot-studied in 30 children from 12-15 years old before performing a main study. The COHIP-VIET was retested with 25% of the sample after two weeks. The Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were utilized in this study.

Results: The COHIP-VIET was constructed in this study. COHIP score of 12-15 year-old children ranged from 46 to 153. The COHIP-VIET had high reliability with ICC= 0.884 (95% CI= 0.843 – 0.914) and Cronbach’s alpha= 0.88.

Conclusions: The COHIP-VIET has high validity and reliability. This questionaire can be used in self-evaluation oral health related quality of life among Vietnamese children from 12 to 15 years old.

Effect of prf on pain, swelling, trismus after surgical removal of impacted lower third molars

2021-11-21T07:43:53+00:00

Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of PRF on reducing pain, swelling and trismus after surgical removal of impacted lower third molars.

Materials and methods: A randomized controlled clinical trial with parallel design was performed on 47 healthy patients, with 55 mandibular wisdom teeth on both sides with similar difficulty index, having needs and indications for extraction. All patients had the same standardized extraction protocol at Department of Minor Oral Surgery in National Hospital of Odonto – Stomatology at HCM City. In the study group, patients’ blood was collected, centrifugated to produce PRF, which was then placed in the wisdom tooth sockets after surgery. In the control group, the tooth sockets were curetted and sutured as in normal protocol. Pain level was assessed according to VAS scale at 2, 4 and 6-hour time point after patients’ lower lips stopped feeling numb, and on the 1st, 3rd and 7th postoperative day; swelling was evaluated based on the measurements between facial landmarks; trismus was assessed based on the distance between incisal edges of upper central incisor and lower incisor during maximum mouth opening on the 3rd and 7th postoperative days. Data obtained were statistically analyzed.

Results: The pain level of patients in the PRF group was significantly lower than that of the control group (p<0.05) on the 1st and 3rd postoperative days. The swelling level did not differ between the two groups at all time. There was less trismus in the PRF group compared to the control group at all times, but the difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05).

Conclusion: This study suggests that using PRF can help reduce pain level and trismus after surgical extraction of impacted lower third molars and could be used routinely after third molar sugery extraction.

Optic neuritis with normal visual acuity – A case report

2021-07-14T22:45:18+00:00

Background: Optic neuritis is an acquired disorder of the optic nerve due to inflammation or demyelination. Diagnosis of optic neuritis was based mainly on clinical signs and symptoms, ancillary tests only help confirm the diagnosis or follow treatment progress. However, in cases with high visual acuity and with mild or without optic disc edema, the disease can be easily underdiagnosed.

Case report: We report a case of optic neuritis with normal visual acuity. The patient complained of blurring vision and mild pain in her right eye upon gazing; however, her right eye best corrected visual acuity was 20/20. Ishihara color vision test was 20/24 on her right eye and 24/24 on her left eye. Relative afferent pupillary defect was detected, fundus examination revealed mild optic disc edema, and visual field test showed enlarged physiological blind spot on her right eye. The patient received careful follow-up with no corticosteroids treatment. After 3 months, all the signs and symptoms resolved completely.

Conclusion: This case demonstrated that optic neuritis can be easily underdiagnosed; relative afferent pupillary defect check, visual field, magnetic resonance imaging and color vision test should be performed in every suspected cases. Strict follow-up check, instead of corticosteroids may be of priority when patient visual acuity is still good.

The treatment outcome of conjunctival resection for conjunctivochalasis: A case report

2021-11-06T09:24:51+00:00

Conjunctivochalasis was defined as loose and nonedematous redundant conjunctiva located between the ocular globe and eyelids, especially at the lower fornix. These redundant conjunctival folds cause a range of symptoms, including grittiness, dryness, epiphora and blurry vision etc. due to the interior nasal punctum blockage and decreased tear film stability. Decreased tear film stability, pooling tears in the eyelid cul-de-sac, tear meniscus disruption, increasing mechanical friction, cause corneal epithelial damage and ocular surface inflammation. Conjunctivochalasis is a common ocular surface disease but well overlooked and often misdiagnosed with dry eye, meibomian gland disease or allergic conjunctivitis. The difficulty in diagnosing conjunctivochalasis is that the symptoms are non-specific, the onset is insidious and many clinicians do not recognize the significance of the conjunctival folds. Surgical treatment is indicated when refractory to medical management (artificial tears, anti-inflammation eyedrops) in order to reconstruct the conjunctival surface and tear menicus function. To better understand the efficacy of surgical management of conjunctivochalasis, we report a case of conjunctival resection before and three months after surgery.