Gastrointestinal endoscopy detects early malignant esophageal tumors

Health check-up detects malignant esophageal tumor

Gastrointestinal endoscopy using an artificial intelligence (AI) endoscope at the hospital showed that the patient had two tumors at the 1/3 upper and 1/3 mid-oesophagus. The tissue biopsy results confirmed squamous cell carcinoma, also known as squamous cell carcinoma.

Doctors are performing endoscopy on patients.

Dr. Do Minh Hung, Director of the Endoscopy and Endoscopic Surgery Center of Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, said that in the early stages, the symptoms of squamous cell carcinoma are almost absent or unclear, so patients are easily subjective. This is a dangerous malignancy that progresses rapidly, so intervention is needed as soon as possible.

Mr. Phuong's squamous cell carcinoma originated from the epithelial cells in the esophageal wall (early stage), requiring endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) to preserve the esophagus and eradicate cancer cells.

Typical symptoms of esophageal cancer include difficulty swallowing, weight loss, pain in the chest behind the sternum when swallowing, vomiting, increased salivation...

According to Dr. Hung, regular health check-ups and early detection of the disease are very important. The reason is that treatment of late-stage esophageal cancer is difficult, surgery takes a long time with total esophageal resection and lymph node dissection in 2 or 3 areas with many risks of complications and surgical complications.

Many cases must be combined with multimodal treatment such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and palliative care. The effectiveness is often limited, with a 5-year survival rate of only about 5%. In cases like Mr. Phuong's, if detected later, radical surgery would not be possible with two tumor locations like this.

Cancer Association Statistics world shows that in Vietnam, in 2020 there were 3.281 new cases of esophageal cancer, 3.080 deaths each year, ranked 9th in cancer deaths, a common disease in men.

This number continues to increase. Gastrointestinal endoscopy is considered the “gold standard” in early detection of this dangerous disease.

Full body fungus due to self-treatment of rash

A 17-year-old male patient had red, scaly lesions all over his body with severe itching. He self-treated with topical medication purchased online and tested positive for fungal infection.

The disease has been progressing for 2 years now, initially the lesions appeared as red, circular, itchy patches on both hands. The patient went to the district hospital many times, treated with topical and oral antifungal medications, the lesions improved but relapsed periodically.

For a year now, the patient has been self-treating with unknown topical medications and medications purchased online (no label, unknown ingredients), causing the lesions to spread throughout the body.

When coming to the Central Dermatology Hospital for examination, the patient had red, circular, polygonal patches on the trunk, arms, and legs, with scaly skin, spreading around; red papules, pustules on the chest and back.

The doctor ordered some tests such as fresh examination to find fungal hyphae, which detected segmented fungal hyphae on the keratinocytes. The patient was diagnosed with systemic fungal infection.

After 5 days of treatment, the skin lesions improved, the patient was prescribed medication for home treatment and instructed on appropriate lifestyle and hygiene to limit recurrence.

According to doctors at the Central Dermatology Hospital, skin diseases caused by dermatophytes are superficial fungal infections of the skin, including body fungus, face fungus, groin fungus, hand fungus, and foot fungus.

Major risk factors are related to keeping or contact with animals; obesity and excessive sweating; use of alkaline soaps; frequent wearing of shoes, and use of public baths or swimming pools.

The primary lesions are circular or polycyclic red macules and plaques, scaly, tending to heal in the middle, spreading outwards and being very itchy. The disease responds well to treatment, but often recurs and may require long-term preventive treatment.

Diagnosis is mainly based on clinical symptoms and fresh examination to find fungus. Depending on the severity of the disease, doctors can use topical or oral medications alone or in combination. Response to treatment is quite good within 1-2 weeks of treatment. Improper use of medication can make the condition more serious and require longer treatment time.

Associate Professor, Dr. Le Huu Doanh, Director of the Central Dermatology Hospital, said that many people still have the habit of self-treating when they have skin diseases.

There are diseases that become serious, from fungus, psoriasis, contact dermatitis… due to self-treatment. Dermatological problems like the above will be updated and shared by domestic and foreign doctors at the Indochina Dermatology Conference taking place at the end of this month.

Stroke after 5 days of headache

While hanging clothes, a 39-year-old woman suddenly fell to the ground, unable to speak, and was taken to the emergency room.

Doctors at Hung Vuong General Hospital said the patient had suffered from a headache for 5 days, with severe pain in her forehead and temples. She went to a hospital near her home and was prescribed headache medication, but it did not improve. An hour before entering the hospital, she suddenly fainted, fell into a coma, and was admitted to the emergency room.

The doctor diagnosed the patient with cerebral infarction, prescribed monitoring and treatment with a combination of methods to improve neurological symptoms, prevent complications, and avoid recurrence. Currently, the doctor is looking for the cause of the disease, the patient has no history of underlying diseases.

When a stroke occurs, every minute that passes, 2 million nerve cells are lost. Therefore, treatment must be sought as soon as possible. For ischemic stroke, patients who are admitted to the hospital within the first 4,5 hours can be effectively treated with thrombolytic drugs, and most recover almost completely.

Statistics show that about 40% of people after a stroke suffer moderate sequelae, living with disability or partial dependence. 30% of patients suffer severe disability, living with dependence, becoming vegetative, or dying.

Cerebral infarction is one of the most urgent medical emergencies, with the golden “time window” for effective treatment lasting only 4 hours from the onset of symptoms.

Without timely intervention, the patient may face a series of serious sequelae such as motor paralysis, crooked mouth, difficulty speaking, loss of consciousness or disability, and death.

There is no vaccine to prevent stroke, nor is there a pill to prevent it. However, about 80% of strokes can be prevented by eliminating and controlling risk factors.

When signs of stroke occur, it is necessary to choose the nearest hospital but must be capable of treating stroke. Going to the wrong emergency room can delay the golden time, affecting the patient's recovery results.