title: Vitamin A assay in burned patients.
abstract: A study of serum vitamin A levels in burned patients at the Vancouver General Hospital (1972-1973) is reported in an attempt to relate hypovitaminosis A to acute stress erosions in the gastrointestinal tract. Thirty-one patients were studied, of whom 10 had moderate to severe burns. Vitamin A levels of normal males and females at the Vancouver General Hospital averaged at 35 mug/100 ml. Patients with burn indices of less than 12 did not show any significant fall in serum vitamin A levels. The fall of vitamin A levels was greater as the burn index increased, and the fall of vitamin A level was noticed within 48 hours postburn and returned to normal by the second week postburn. In patients with severe burns and gastrointestinal bleeding with stress ulcers, the serum vitamin A levels fell more profoundly (e.g., 18 mug/100 ml). Four patients with gastrointestinal bleeding were detected, of whom three had acute gastric erosions with low serum vitamin A levels. The possibility that hypovitaminosis A is a contributing factor in acute gastric erosions of the gastric mucosa in severely burned patients is suggested.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002056:Burns / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D002648:Child; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010437:Peptic Ulcer / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology; D010438:Peptic Ulcer Hemorrhage / Q000097:blood; D013053:Spectrophotometry; D013997:Time Factors; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D014801:Vitamin A