A randomized controlled trial of vitamin A supplementation in acute diarrhea

Effect of vitamin A supplementation on duration of diarrhea was evaluated in 108 cases between 6 months to 5 years of age suffering from acute diarrhea of less than 3 days duration and results were compared with equal number of age and sex matched controls having comparable feeding pattern, nutritional and socio-economic status and clinical profile who did not receive vitamin A supplementation. There was no significant difference in the mean duration of diarrhea in cases who received vitamin A and the controls. However, on subgroup analysis of the study and control groups a significant (p = 0.009) beneficial effect of vitamin A supplementation was noticed in cases who had a pre-existing vitamin A deficiency with CIC stage 3/5 and above. Even though vitamin A supplementation in malnourished children did not significantly alter the duration of diarrhea, a beneficial effect was observed in children who had CIC state 3 and above in association with malnutrition (p = 0.025). Our results indicate that vitamin A supplementation does not significantly reduce the duration of a diarrheal episode. However, in children with pre-existing vitamin A deficiency particularly those who have associated malnutrition it may have a beneficial effect.