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The effect of vitamin A on renal damage following acute pyelonephritis in children

Parviz Ayazi1, Seyed Alireza Moshiri, Abolfazl Mahyar

  • 1Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Clinical Research Center, Qazvin Children Hospital, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran. parviz_ayazi@yahoo.com

European Journal of Pediatrics
|September 21, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Vitamin A supplementation significantly reduced permanent kidney damage in children with acute pyelonephritis. This vitamin A treatment lowered the rate of renal scarring in pediatric patients, improving outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Nephrology
  • Nutritional Science
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Urinary tract infections (UTIs) can lead to renal scarring.
  • Animal studies indicated vitamin A may prevent kidney damage from UTIs.
  • The efficacy of vitamin A in pediatric pyelonephritis-induced renal damage was previously undetermined.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effect of vitamin A on preventing permanent renal damage in children diagnosed with acute pyelonephritis.

Main Methods:

  • Fifty children with first-time pyelonephritis, confirmed by dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scan, were randomized into two groups.
  • Both groups received a 10-day course of intravenous ceftriaxone and 3 months of oral cephalexin.
  • The case group received a single intramuscular dose of vitamin A (25,000 IU for infants <1 year, 50,000 IU for older children).

Main Results:

  • After 3 months, 20% of the vitamin A group (5/25) showed abnormal findings on repeat DMSA scans.
  • In contrast, 68% of the control group (17/25) had abnormal findings (p=0.001).
  • Vitamin A administration was linked to a significantly lower incidence of permanent renal damage.

Conclusions:

  • Vitamin A supplementation is associated with a reduced rate of permanent renal damage in children treated for acute pyelonephritis.
  • This finding supports the potential therapeutic role of vitamin A in managing pediatric kidney infections.
  • Further research may elucidate the precise mechanisms of vitamin A in renal protection.

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