Experts discuss the importance of comprehensive management of in adults and children at a medical forum held last weekend in HCM City (Photo courtesy of the representative office of GSK in Vietnam)HCM City (VNS/VNA) – The healthcare sector is adapting to new medical
trends to meet higher public expectations for healthcare quality, the head of
the Ministry of Health’s Preventive Medicine Department Tran Dac Phu said.
The health official said the sector had seen remarkable progress in raising
people’s health awareness, but most Vietnamese still “prefer
self-diagnosis and self-treatment using Google.”
“They would rather buy medicine without prescriptions at drugstores and
not comply with doctors’ prescriptions,” Phu said at a medical forum on
respiratory diseases held recently in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
At the forum, experts discussed the importance of combining prevention and
treatment in the comprehensive management of respiratory diseases in adults and
children.
This is especially important amid the complexity of , the
recurrence of epidemics in children, and the increasing rate of chronic
diseases like and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), they
said.
Also discussed were treatment of community-acquired respiratory tract
infections based on microbiology and clinical pharmacology, and proper use of
antibiotics to prevent antimicrobial resistance.
The evidence-based treatment method for ear, nose and throat infections to
minimise antibiotic resistance was also cited as important.
Management and control of chronic diseases like asthma and COPD and an
immunisation programme to prevent respiratory infections are also essential in the
treatment and prevention of respiratory disease.
At the event, experts noted that pollution, unhealthy diets and lifestyles, and
a lack of physical exercise among Vietnamese were contributing to a higher
incidence of disease, especially respiratory ailments.
Vietnamese tend to visit doctors when their condition already deteriorates,
making treatment more difficult, they said.
In addition, patients fail to comply with their doctors’ instructions,
regularly skipping doses whey they begin to feel better. This increases
antibiotic resistance, or results in serious complications afterwards.
The burden of disease is substantial for children from birth to two years old.
At this age, most children are hospitalised for acute respiratory diseases.
Their immature immune systems are vulnerable to bacterial attacks, which
results in serious complications and even mortality.
To cope with these challenges, experts suggest three solutions, including a
consensus among health workers across medical fields on proper prescriptions
and use of antibiotics.
Patients should be educated about the importance of adherence to antibiotic
treatment for community-acquired respiratory tract diseases and compliance with
preventive treatment for chronic diseases like asthma and COPD to avoid
subsequent hospitalisation.
Early immunisation for vaccine-preventable diseases to protect children from
common and dangerous respiratory diseases like whooping cough, pneumococcal
pneumonia and other infectious diseases should be encouraged.
The forum was conducted through a live webcast available in more than 20 cities
and provinces nationwide.
It was coorganised by the Vietnam Respiratory Society, Vietnam Pediatrics
Association, Vietnam Association of Preventive Medicine, HCM City Pasteur
Institute, HCM City Respiratory Association, HCM City ENT Association, and the
representative office of GSK in Vietnam.
GSK is one of the world’s leading science-based healthcare and pharmaceutical
companies.-VNS/VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
