TY - JOUR T1 - A syndromic approach to assess diagnosis and management of patients presenting with respiratory symptoms to healthcare facilities in Vietnam JF - ERJ Open Research JO - erjor DO - 10.1183/23120541.00572-2020 VL - 7 IS - 1 SP - 00572-2020 AU - Wan-Chun Huang AU - Gregory J. Fox AU - Ngoc Yen Pham AU - Thu Anh Nguyen AU - Van Giap Vu AU - Quy Chau Ngo AU - Viet Nhung Nguyen AU - Stephen Jan AU - Joel Negin AU - Thi Tuyet Lan Le AU - Guy B. Marks Y1 - 2021/01/01 UR - http://openres.ersjournals.com/content/7/1/00572-2020.abstract N2 - Background The aim of the study was to establish syndromic diagnoses in patients presenting with respiratory symptoms to healthcare facilities in Vietnam and to compare the diagnoses with facility-level clinical diagnoses and treatment decisions.Methods A representative sample of patients aged ≥5 years, presenting with dyspnoea, cough, wheezing, and/or chest tightness to healthcare facilities in four provinces of Vietnam were systematically evaluated. Eight common syndromes were defined using data obtained.Results We enrolled 977 subjects at 39 facilities. We identified fixed airflow limitation (FAL) in 198 (20.3%) patients and reversible airflow limitation (RAL) in 26 (2.7%) patients. Patients meeting the criteria for upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) alone constituted 160 (16.4%) patients and 470 (48.1%) did not meet the criteria for any of the syndromes. Less than half of patients with FAL were given long-acting bronchodilators. A minority of patients with either RAL or FAL with eosinophilia were prescribed inhaled corticosteroids. Antibiotics were given to more than half of all patients, even among those with URTI alone.Conclusion This study identified a substantial discordance between prescribed treatment, clinician diagnosis and a standardised syndromic diagnosis among patients presenting with respiratory symptoms. Increased access to spirometry and implementation of locally relevant syndromic approaches to management may help to improve patient care in resource-limited settings.This study identified discordance between a standardised syndromic diagnosis of respiratory diseases and the diagnosis reached within the Vietnamese health system. Implementing a syndromic approach to case management might help to improve patient care. https://bit.ly/36oJORg ER -