Researchers have observed that penicillin can prevent rheumatic heart disease (RHD) progression in children and adolescents. RHD is caused by damage to heart valves and affects 40.5 million people, causing nearly 306,000 deaths every year. The findings of the study have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Research details Sample size: 818 Participants: Children with latent RHD Methodology: Samples were bifurcated into two groups- one group that did not receive any treatment and the other group which received four weekly injections of penicillin for two years.
Electrocardiography was done before and after the trial. Research findings· 0.8% of participants in the penicillin group experienced latent RHD progression compared to 8.3% in the no-treatment group. There was a significant reduction in disease progression to severe and irreversible valve damage. One in…
