Plasma vitamin A levels in deprived children with pneumonia during the acute phase and after recovery

Abstract

Serum retinol levels were significantly higher after recovery than during the acute phase of pneumonia. There was no statistically significant association between the deficiency of serum retinol and the clinical and epidemiological variables studied.

Frequency of Vitamin a Deficiency in Children Hospitalized for Pneumonia: An Integrative Review

“…The studies investigated different populations, age groups, diagnostic criteria for pneumonia and vitamin A deficiency. Some studies demonstrated the child’s follow-up after hospital discharge [ 24 , 30 , 32 , 33 ]. Table 3 shows the characterization of countries, age group, mean serum retinol level and frequency of vitamin A deficiency.…”

“…Table 3 shows that the classification of vitamin A deficiency differed in some studies, Julien et al [ 30 ], Moreira et al [ 25 ] and Wang et al [ 35 ], categorized subclinical and clinical vitamin A deficiency serum retinol levels below <0.7 μmol/L and 0.35 μmol/L, respectively. Kjolhede et al [ 24 ], Nacul et al [ 31 , 32 ], Zuo et al [ 34 ], Kuti et al [ 36 ], and Li et al [ 37 ], classified vitamin A deficiency values below <0.7 μmol/L without categorizing it into subclinical or clinical deficiency, as well as Silva et al [ 33 ], who used another cutoff point to classify the inadequate serum retinol level (<1.05 μmol/L). The lowest and highest mean of serum retinol presented were in the study by Julien et al [ 30 ] in the placebo group (0.28 μmol/L) and in the study by Silva et al [ 33 ] in the acute phase of infection (1.4 μmol/L), respectively.…”

“…Kjolhede et al [ 24 ], Nacul et al [ 31 , 32 ], Zuo et al [ 34 ], Kuti et al [ 36 ], and Li et al [ 37 ], classified vitamin A deficiency values below <0.7 μmol/L without categorizing it into subclinical or clinical deficiency, as well as Silva et al [ 33 ], who used another cutoff point to classify the inadequate serum retinol level (<1.05 μmol/L). The lowest and highest mean of serum retinol presented were in the study by Julien et al [ 30 ] in the placebo group (0.28 μmol/L) and in the study by Silva et al [ 33 ] in the acute phase of infection (1.4 μmol/L), respectively.…”

“…The main limitations identified in most studies were the lack of assessment and/or correction of bias. [25,[30][31][32][33][34] of the 4 intervention studies, only Nacul et al [31] identified the adverse effects of intervention. As well as, none of the studies assessed sample representativeness with regard to the source or target population.…”

Vitamin A deficiency and wheezing

“…The correlation between the severity of pneumonia and retinol level has not been reported according to the studies available. [21] WHO has also put emphasis on the role of severe infectious diseases in acute VAD. [22] We found that the prevalence of severe VAD in patients with severe wheezing was much higher than that in the non-severe group, indicating that the level of vitamin A might be associated with the severity of wheezing.…”