25 at 25: Conducting the first large randomised controlled trial on TB treatment for children

More than a million children fall ill with tuberculosis (TB) each year around the world. Yet few trials are conducted to inform treatment for these children. This is partly because children are harder to diagnose with the disease. This means that treatment recommendations are based on evidence from trials conducted in adults. There may be important differences in how children respond to treatment.
As part of our ’25 at 25’ series, we look back at The SHINE trial, which sought to address this evidence gap. This landmark study was the first randomised controlled trial to assess the length of treatment needed for children with TB.