title: Vitamin A status of children with a history of respiratory syncytial virus infection in infancy.
abstract: In order to extend our earlier observation that children who experience frequent respiratory episodes may benefit from Vitamin A supplementation, 206 children aged 2-7 years who had been hospitalized for bronchiolitis during infancy were randomized into a controlled trial of Vitamin A supplementation. Of these, 149 met the criteria of protocol compliance after 12 months of follow-up. Mean plasma retinol at baseline was 39.2 micrograms/100 ml (s.e.m. = 1.0) and did not increase after 12 months (mean = 36.0 micrograms/100 ml, s.e.m. = 0.7) despite the older age of the cohort. The range observed (11.7-73.9 micrograms/100 ml) included some children at risk of marginal Vitamin A deficiency. Mean plasma retinol levels were 20% lower than those of children experiencing frequent respiratory episodes recorded earlier. Oral supplementation did not change plasma retinol levels, nor did it affect respiratory morbidity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, University of Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: C B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Pinnock
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Douglas
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: N R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Badcock
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000517:prevention & control; D001990:Bronchiolitis, Viral / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011897:Random Allocation; D012136:Respiratory Syncytial Viruses; D010253:Respirovirus Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D014801:Vitamin A