Penicillin can significantly reduce the development of rheumatic heart disease in children

The study, led by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Uganda Heart Research Institute, and Washington Children’s National Hospital also shows that early screening is essential for preventing the progression and death of severe rheumatic heart disease in young children Important

Rheumatic heart disease affects 40.

Andrea Beaton, an associate professor at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, said that before this study, it was unknown whether antibiotics were effective in preventing the progression of underlying rheumatic heart disease

"This trial is the first contemporary randomized controlled trial of rheumatic heart disease

The trial involved 818 Ugandan children aged 5-17 with underlying rheumatic heart disease

The screening results published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that only 3 (0.

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"The results of the study show that for every 13 children with latent diseases who receive two years of treatment, one child will not develop a more serious disease

MCRI Professor Andrew Steer said that screening for underlying rheumatic heart disease is essential to stop the disease from progressing, because heart valve damage is largely untreatable

He said: "Children with underlying rheumatic heart disease have no symptoms, and we cannot detect slight changes in the heart valve clinically

"Currently, most patients are diagnosed in the late stage of the disease and have already developed complications

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In 2018, Uganda supported the World Health Organization's resolution to make the disease a global priority

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