Abstract Objective To investigate the association of the serum level of vitamin A (VA) with the severity of pneumonia and recurrent respiratory infection (RRI) within one year after treatment in children with pneumonia, and to provide a basis for serum VA level used as an index for judgment of the condition of pneumonia and prediction of the risk of recurrent respiratory infection. Methods A total of 88 children with pneumonia aged less than 3 years were enrolled as study subjects. Serum VA level was measured on admission, and the development of RRI was followed up by telephone within 1 year after discharge. Results The children with pneumonia showed a reduction in the serum level of VA (0.8±0.3 μmol/L). The severe pneumonia group had a significantly lower serum level of VA than the mild pneumonia group (0.7±0.3 μmol/L vs 0.9±0.3 μmol/L; P P P 0.05). Conclusions Children with pneumonia often have a low level of VA, and the level of VA is associated with the severity of pneumonia and the development of RRI afterwards.
Rodríguez A, Hamer DH, Rivera J, et al. Effects of moderate doses of vitamin A as an adjunct to the treatment of pneumonia in underweight and normal-weight children: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial[J]. Am J Clin Nutr, 2005, 82(5): 1090-1096.
[6]
Cameron C, Dallaire F, Vézina C, et al. Neonatal vitamin A deficiency and its impact on acute respiratory infections among preschool Inuit children[J]. Can J Public Health, 2008, 99(2):102-106.
Amaral CT, Pontes NN, Maciel BL, et al. Vitamin A deficiency alters airway resistance in children with acute upper respiratory infection[J].Pediatr Pulmonol, 2013, 48(5): 481-489.
[14]
Awasthi S, Peto R, Read S, et al. Vitamin A supplementation every 6 months with retinol in 1 million pre-school children in north India: DEVTA, a cluster-randomised trial[J]. Lancet, 2013, 381(9876): 1469-1477.
[15]
Chen H, Zhou Q, Yuan W, et al. Vitamin A for preventing acute lower respiratory tract infections in children up to seven years of age[J]. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2008, (1): CD006090.
[16]
Palmer AC, West KP Jr, Dalmiya N, et al. The use and interpretation of serum retinol distributions in evaluating the public health impact of vitamin A programmes[J]. Public Health Nutr, 2012, 15(7): 1201-1215.
