High dose vitamin A gives no benefit in childhood pneumonia

Acute respiratory infections are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among young children in the developing world. Global efforts at mortality control currently focus on case management, mainly through use of antibiotics, and on improving the coverage of measles and pertussis immunisation. Nacul et al (p 505) report the results of a randomised double blind, placebo controlled clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of adding high doses of vitamin A to protocols to manage pneumonia in childhood. The study was conducted in 472 children in north east Brazil, where around a third of children have some degree of biochemical vitamin A deficiency. Although therapeutic doses of vitamin A have been shown to be of benefit in the treatment of measles, the authors found no effect on the immediate outcome of pneumonia.


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