Vitamin A Deficiency

Aka: Vitamin A Deficiency

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II. Causes

  1. Diets lacking Vitamin A (see Vitamin A for sources)
  2. Alcoholism
  3. Liver Disease
  4. Fat malabsorption (or bile flow disorder)
    1. Vitamin A is a fat soluble Vitamin

III. Signs

  1. Decreased Visual Acuity
    1. Night Blindness
    2. Retinal deterioration
    3. Blindness (leading cause of preventable childhood blindness worldwide)
  2. Dry bulbar Conjunctiva
  3. Bitot's Spots
    1. Small foamy white or gray Plaques under Conjunctiva
  4. Corneal Ulceration
  5. Endophthalmitis
  6. Skin Hyperkeratosis
  7. Skin dryness

IV. Management

  1. Precautions
    1. Narrow spectrum between therapeutic doses and liver toxicity
    2. Avoid excessive intake of Vitamin A
  2. Replacement protocol for Vitamin A Deficiency
    1. Initial
      1. Vitamin A 100,000 units IM daily for 3 days
    2. Next
      1. Vitamin A 50,000 units IM daily for 14 days
    3. Next
      1. Vitamin A 10,000 to 20,000 units orally daily for 2 months
  3. References
    1. Jhun et al. in Herbert (2016) EM:Rap 16(9): 8-10

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