A Narrative Review of Vitamin A Supplementation in Preterm and Term Infants

Vitamin A deficiency is an epidemiologically significant concern in all age groups, especially in preterm and term infants. Its deficiency causes various developmental malformations. Vitamin A supplementation has been a practiced alternative for many decades, but its effectiveness is debatable in the medical system. The bioavailability of beta-carotenes varies greatly and ranges from 2% to 30%, depending on how it is present in the plant's cellular composition. Vitamin A has a bioavailability of up to 75%. The bioavailability of beta-carotenes is positively impacted by several activities but mainly by mechanical ones that allow cellular interaction. These include enough chewing, mincing, and pureeing. The bioavailability of beta-carotene can be increased by moderate cooking and combining high-quality lipids. The WHO recommends waiting for a minimum of one month between vitamin A dosages. Six months is the maximum amount of time between dosages. For instance, giving the optimum dosage to a child who has not had vitamin A in two months is preferable to skipping the dose and making the child wait eight months (i.e., two months plus six months) before receiving the following amount. There were no discernible variations in the occurrence of momentarily increased aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), or alkaline phosphatase between the leading group and the trace group. However, patients in the top group experienced high blood triacylglycerol levels more frequently than those in the trace group, suggesting that hypertriacylglycerolemia may be a side effect of vitamin A administration. It is imperative to memo that neonatal vitamin A supplementation negatively affects subsequent diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT) vaccination in females. Since many children are delayed in obtaining their initial DPT series, several nations prescribe DPT boosters, so older children may be affected if vitamin A supplementation negatively interacts with DPT in such children.