By September this year, 378 children (out of a planned 800) had received this free screening test, of which 25.5% had tested positive for the genetic test.

The 25.5% positive rate is significant in helping patients be protected from the risk of adverse reactions in epilepsy treatment, thanks to doctors adjusting the dose or changing the drug to match the genotype. This test is meaningful in treatment, because if the patient has a positive genetic test result with the risk of adverse drug reactions, doctors will switch to other more suitable drugs. For cases resistant to alternative drugs, patients will still be treated with drugs but will be placed under close monitoring.

In the upcoming cooperation phase, the National Children's Hospital will continue to work with the sponsor to speed up the project implementation and promote communication activities so that more patients can access and benefit from this program.

The screening program is currently being implemented at the Neurology Center - National Children's Hospital, for children in difficult circumstances, who have or are at risk of epilepsy. To register for the program, families can contact the phone number: 024.62738814.

According to the National Children's Hospital, there are currently about 600,000 children with epilepsy in Vietnam. Carbamazepine is an effective, low-cost and widely used epilepsy medication. However, this drug has a high risk of causing unwanted reactions, many cases leading to Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) causing serious skin damage. Previously, according to the results of the project "Sequencing 1,000 Vietnamese genomes" of the Institute for Big Data Research, for every 4 Vietnamese people using Carbamazepine, 1 person has a high risk of experiencing adverse reactions.