Vitamin A in children’s pneumonia for a COVID-19 perspective: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 15 trials

Background: To systematically review and meta-analyze the efficacy of vitamin A as an adjuvant therapy for pneumonia in children. Methods: We searched in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang Database and Chongqing VIP information network from libraries building to March 2022, screening randomized controlled trials (RCT) about vitamin A combined with conventional therapy for pneumonia in children. Two researchers used the Cochrane risk of bias tool to assess the quality of included studies dependently. Data analysis was conducted in the RevMan 5.3. Results: 15 trials involving 3496 patients (treated group: 1898; control group: 1598) were analyzed in this study. The Meta-analysis showed that vitamin A combined with conventional therapy improved clinical efficacy (P < .05), shortened the duration of fever and cough, negative time of chest X-ray, and the hospitalization, lung rale disappearance, choking milk disappearance, shortness of breath disappearance and perilabial cyanosis disappearance (P < .05). However, vitamin A combined with conventional therapy did not reduce the mortality of pneumonia in children (P > .05). Conclusion: Vitamin A contributes to relieve the clinical symptoms and signs, and also shorten the hospitalization.

• Publication year

  2022

• Venue

  Medicine

• Publication date

  2022-10-21

• Fields of study

  Medicine

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1097/MD.0000000000031289PMID 36281101PMCID 9592144
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Vitamin A in resistance to and recovery from infection: relevance to SARS-CoV2

  2021cited by this paper
• Vitamin A deficiency dysregulates immune responses toward influenza virus and increases mortality after bacterial coinfections.

  2020cited by this paper
• Revealing the targets and mechanisms of vitamin A in the treatment of COVID-19

  2020cited by this paper
• The correlation between vitamin a status and refractory Mycoplasma Pneumoniae pneumonia (RMPP) incidence in children

  2020cited by this paper
• Strengthening the Immune System and Reducing Inflammation and Oxidative Stress through Diet and Nutrition: Considerations during the COVID-19 Crisis

  2020cited by this paper
• Vitamin A deficiency is associated with severe Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in children.

  2020cited by this paper
• Effects of Vitamin A on Expressions of Apoptosis Genes Bax and Bcl-2 in Epithelial Cells of Corneal Tissues Induced by Benzalkonium Chloride in Mice with Dry Eye

  2019cited by this paper
• Modulation of Intestinal Immune and Barrier Functions by Vitamin A: Implications for Current Understanding of Malnutrition and Enteric Infections in Children

  2018cited by this paper
• Community-Acquired Pneumonia

  2018cited by this paper
• Vitamin A supplementation for preventing morbidity and mortality in children from six months to five years of age.

  2017cited by this paper
• Vitamin A deficient mice exhibit increased viral antigens and enhanced cytokine/chemokine production in nasal tissues following respiratory virus infection despite the presence of FoxP3+ T cells.

  2016cited by this paper
• Global, regional, and national causes of under-5 mortality in 2000–15: an updated systematic analysis with implications for the Sustainable Development Goals

  2016cited by this paper
• Community-acquired pneumonia requiring hospitalization among U.S. children.

  2015cited by this paper
• Rahnella aquatilis Sepsis in a Premature Newborn

  2015cited by this paper
• Can vitamin a mediate immunity and inflammation?

  2015cited by this paper
• Vitamin A deficiency is associated with gastrointestinal and respiratory morbidity in school-age children.

  2014cited by this paper
• Lethality by pneumonia and factors associated to death.

  2014cited by this paper
• Acitretin revisited in the era of biologics

  2011cited by this paper
• Diagnosis,Treatment and Prevention of Vitamin A Deficiency

  2010cited by this paper
• Burden of disease caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae in children younger than 5 years: global estimates.

  2009cited by this paper
• Administration of Lycopene and Beta-Carotene Decreased Risks of Pneumonia among Children

  2008cited by this paper
• Topical Retinoids in Acne Vulgaris

  2008cited by this paper
• Impact of mass supplementation of Vitamin A

  2007cited by this paper
• Effects of moderate doses of vitamin A as an adjunct to the treatment of pneumonia in underweight and normal-weight children: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

  2005cited by this paper
• Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of the efficacy of treatment with zinc or vitamin A in infants and young children with severe acute lower respiratory infection.

  2004cited by this paper
• Vitamin A, infection, and immune function.

  2001cited by this paper
• Adverse effects of high-dose vitamin A supplements in children hospitalized with pneumonia.

  1998cited by this paper
• Oral Retinoids in the Treatment of Seborrhoea and Acne

  1998cited by this paper
• Vitamin A supplementation and severity of pneumonia in children admitted to the hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

  1998cited by this paper
• High dose vitamin A supplementation in the course of pneumonia in Vietnamese children

  1997cited by this paper
• Randomised, double blind, placebo controlled clinical trial of efficacy of vitamin A treatment in non-measles childhood pneumonia

  1997cited by this paper
• Vitamin A status in children with pneumonia.

  1995cited by this paper
• Topical tretinoin improves photoaged skin. A double-blind vehicle-controlled study.

  1988cited by this paper
• VITAMIN A AS AN ANTI-INFECTIVE AGENT

  1929cited by this paper
• Vitamin A as an Anti-Infective Agent.

  1928cited by this paper

• Vitamin A and Its Related Diseases

  2025cites this paper
• The Relationship between Serum Vitamin A Levels and the Severity of Pneumonia in Pediatric Patients

  2025cites this paper
• Assessment of Supplementation with Different Biomolecules in the Prevention and Treatment of COVID-19

  2024cites this paper
• Interim Report on a Live Review of Systematic Reviews of Natural Health Products and Natural Therapies in the Prevention and/or Treatment of COVID-19

  2023cites this paper
• Micronutrients, genetics and COVID-19

  2023cites this paper
• Exploring the Effects of Vitamin D and Vitamin A Levels on the Response to COVID-19 Vaccine

  2023cites this paper