South Sudan: Vietnamese UN peacekeeping doctors save patient from stroke with timely first aid

The Vietnamese level-2 field hospital No. 3 under the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan managed to give first aid to save a 50-year-old UN staff member suffering a stroke on Monday.

The patient was taken to the hospital by their colleagues in a state of a right hemiplegia, which had started about an hour before their hospitalization, according to information provided by the infirmary on Tuesday.

The patient remained conscious and retained speaking ability and sense of responsiveness, but the blood pressure was high.

Dr. Dang Long Trieu and Dr. Tran Dang Khoa managed to lower the patient’s blood pressure and keep it normal while implementing necessary laboratory tests.

They diagnosed the patient with left-sided stroke allegedly due to brain hemorrhage, using the optic nerve sheath ultrasound, a bedside practice that can be used to evaluate increased intracranial pressure, instead of CT or MRI scanners, given the hospital’s disadvantaged facility condition.

After treating the patient in accordance with the stroke protocol, the Vietnamese level-2 field hospital No. 3 transferred them to the level-3 field hospital in Kampala, Uganda by the medevac (medical evacuation aircraft) under the approval of competent health officials.

This is the third stroke case the Vietnamese level-2 field hospital No. 3 has successfully handled during its 12-month term under the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.