Chợ Rẫy Hospital is the largest general hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and is also the largest in Vietnam, founded in 1900 during the French colonial rule as Hôpital Municipal de Cholon. Over the years, the hospital has also been known as Hôpital Indigène de Cochinchine (1919), Hôpital Lolung Bonnoires (1938), and Hôpital 415 (1945), until it was ultimately renamed Chợ Rẫy in 1957.The facility was reconstructed on the area of 53,000 m² and was re-equipped to become one of the largest[citation needed] hospitals in Southeast Asia in June 1974 with the help of the Japanese government.At present, the hospital has 35 clinical, 11 subclinical and 8 functional departments. It organizes practice and postgraduate training for more than 2,500 medical students and 600 doctors each year. Chợ Rẫy Hospital has 1200 beds, employs 2,270 health workers including 500 medical doctors and pharmacists, and provides treatment for about 457,000 outpatients and 67,000 inpatients per year.Active international contacts are held with medical facilities all over the world..
Cardiac toxicity from QT-prolonging drugs can precipitate malignant ventricular arrhythmias in susceptible individuals, and family screening may clarify inherited risk. We report a 33-year-old woman with a history of postpartum cardiac arrest treated with a secondary-prevention implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) who developed an electrical storm after self-administration of a single low dose of amitriptyline (12.5 mg). ICD interrogation documented 176 episodes of ventricular fibrillation requiring repeated shocks, followed by complete battery depletion, hemodynamic collapse, and the need for venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and continuous renal replacement therapy. The admission electrocardiogram showed marked QT prolongation (QTc 651 ms), with previously documented prolonged baseline QTc values. Targeted next-generation sequencing identified a novel SCN5A missense variant (NM_000335.5:c.5738G > A) and a rare pathogenic KCNQ1 splice variant (NM_000218.3:c.1032G > C), cascade testing across the family demonstrated variable expressivity among carriers. Given a suspected contribution of late sodium current, a mechanism-based strategy was implemented with mexiletine added to propranolol and overdrive pacing (90 bpm). This case underscores the risk of malignant ventricular arrhythmias after exposure to QT-prolonging agents even at low doses, and supports genotype-informed, mechanism-based therapy to mitigate arrhythmic risk in patients with marked QT prolongation.
Background The matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP2) rs243865 polymorphism has been associated with cardiovascular events; however, its impact on difficult-to-control hypertension remains unclear. This study aims to assess the characteristics of rs243865 polymorphism and its association with target organ damage in adult patients with difficult-to-control hypertension in Vietnam. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 70 difficult-to-control hypertensive patients at two medical centers in Southern Vietnam. All patients underwent Sanger sequencing for analysis of the MMP2 rs243865 polymorphism. Target organ damage (TOD) was assessed across cardiac (left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), myocardial ischemia), renal (decreased glomerular filtration rate, microalbuminuria), and vascular (carotid stenosis, peripheral vascular disease) systems, with patient-level counts of damaged target-organ systems derived. Data were processed in R 4.5.0 (RStudio, 2025), and associations were analyzed using logistic regression with false discovery rate (FDR) control based on Storey’s q-values. Results Analysis of the MMP2 rs243865 polymorphism revealed a predominance of the C allele (87.1%), with the CC genotype being the most common (75.7%). Allele/genotype distributions did not differ across clinical features (p > 0.05) except for higher dyslipidemia in C-allele carriers and the CC genotype (p = 0.035 and p = 0.033). Adjusted models (age, sex, dyslipidemia, duration of hypertension, and duration of diabetes) showed the C allele and CC genotype associated with microalbuminuria (q = 0.041; q = 0.049), echocardiographic LVH (q = 0.039; q = 0.027), and renal TOD (q = 0.019; q = 0.027). CC genotype associations were observed for LVH on echocardiography (q = 0.027), combined LVH (q = 0.028) and cardiac TOD (q = 0.039), and lower odds of carotid artery stenosis (q = 0.039). The C allele was associated with ≥ 2 damaged organ systems (q = 0.026). Conclusion Preliminary findings suggest a possible involvement of the MMP2 rs243865 polymorphism in target organ damage among patients with difficult-to-control hypertension.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a major public health challenge in Vietnam and, according to GLOBOCAN 2022, accounted for 24,502 new cases in 2022, making it the second most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), introduced in 1977, is a pivotal treatment for unresectable HCC, delivering chemotherapeutic agents and embolic materials to induce tumor necrosis through cytotoxicity and ischemia. TACE is versatile and, in selected early-stage HCC (BCLC 0-A) treated with a highly selective approach, may achieve complete response; in intermediate-stage disease (BCLC B), it can prolong survival and enable downstaging, and in advanced-stage disease (BCLC C), it may complement systemic therapy. Despite its global use, TACE practices vary, and Vietnam lacks standardized guidelines tailored to its unique clinical landscape. The Vietnamese Society of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine and The Vietnamese Society of Interventional Radiology conducted three workshops in Da Nang, An Giang, and Can Tho between August and December 2024. These workshops engaged interventional radiologists from major hospitals and regional centers to develop consensus-based TACE recommendations. Through literature reviews, discussions, and physician voting, the recommendations cover pre-TACE diagnostic imaging, patient selection criteria, TACE techniques, choice of embolic materials and chemotherapeutic agents, intra- and post-procedure monitoring, and integration with combination therapies. This initiative aligns international standards with local needs, aiming to enhance the efficacy and consistency of TACE for HCC management in Vietnam.
Study Design:Retrospective single-center cohort study. Purpose:To evaluate 1-year clinical and radiological outcomes of biportal endoscopic posterior cervical foraminotomy (BE-PCF) in cervical spondylotic radiculopathy (CSR). Overview of Literature:CSR is commonly managed with anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, cervical disc replacement, or posterior cervical foraminotomy. However, these approaches may lead to fusion-related complications, prosthesis degeneration, or posterior tension band disruption. Minimally invasive techniques, such as biportal endoscopic spine surgery, aim to reduce tissue damage while maintaining effective decompression. Long-term outcome data for BE-PCF remain limited. Methods:Twenty-one patients (31 levels) who underwent BE-PCF (June 2023-December 2024) were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical outcomes included Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores for neck and arm pain and Neck Disability Index (NDI) at baseline, discharge, 6 months, and 1 year. Radiological outcomes were assessed using dynamic radiographs (C2C7 and segmental range of motion [ROM]) and computed tomography (CT) at 6 months, evaluating facet resection, foraminal diameter, and approach angle. Results:Mean follow-up was 14.8±6.7 months. VAS and NDI improved significantly (p<0.001). Neck pain decreased from 6.9±1.1 to 2.5±0.7, arm pain from 8.1±0.7 to 2.0±0.6, and NDI from 30.8±3.6 to 12.2±1.6. Cervical ROM was preserved (C2C7: 40.5°±10.1° vs. 40.5°±10.3°, p=0.99; segmental: 13.1°±4.4° vs. 13.8°±5.7°, p=0.18). CT demonstrated significant foraminal enlargement (mid-foraminal: 4.2±0.8 to 6.5±1.0 mm; distal: 3.7±1.1 to 4.8±1.0 mm; both p<0.001). Mean facet resection was 34.6%±7.7%, with no case exceeding 50%. Complications included transient C5 palsy (4.7%) and one wrong-level surgery (3.2%). Conclusions:BE-PCF is a safe and effective minimally invasive option for CSR, providing significant clinical improvement, preserved cervical motion, and adequate decompression with low complication rates at 1 year.
