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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Ontology: Vitamin A Deficiency (C0042842)

Definition (NCI) Deficiency of vitamin A due to malnutrition, malabsorption, or dietary lack. It is manifested with reduced night vision, night blindness, and xerophthalmia.
Definition (CSP) condition due to a deficiency of vitamin A.
Definition (MSH) A nutritional condition produced by a deficiency of VITAMIN A in the diet, characterized by NIGHT BLINDNESS and other ocular manifestations such as dryness of the conjunctiva and later of the cornea (XEROPHTHALMIA). Vitamin A deficiency is a very common problem worldwide, particularly in developing countries as a consequence of famine or shortages of vitamin A-rich foods. In the United States it is found among the urban poor, the elderly, alcoholics, and patients with malabsorption. (From Cecil Textbook of Medicine, 19th ed, p1179)
Concepts Disease or Syndrome (T047)
MSH D014802
ICD9 264.9, 264
ICD10 E50 , E50.9
SnomedCT 154724001, 190623002, 124880003, 72000004
English Deficiencies, Vitamin A, Deficiency, Vitamin A, Vitamin A Deficiencies, Vitamin A Deficiency, Unspecified vitamin A deficiency, VITAMIN A DEFICIENCY, vitamin A deficiency, Vitamin A deficiency, unspecified, DEFIC VITAMIN A, VITAMIN A DEFIC, vitamin a deficiency (diagnosis), vitamin a deficiency, Vitamin A deficiency NOS, Hypovitaminosis A NOS, Vitamin A Deficiency [Disease/Finding], deficiency vitamins, deficiencies disease vitamins, deficiency diseases vitamin, vitamin a deficiencies, vitamin deficiency disease, deficiency vitamin a, deficiencies vitamin, deficiencies vitamins, deficiency of vitamin a, of vitamin a deficiency, vitamin a deficiency disorder, Hypovitaminosis A NOS (disorder), Deficiency of vitamin A (disorder), Hypovitaminosis A, Vitamin A deficiency, Deficiency of vitamin A, Vitamin A deficiency (disorder), deficiency; vitamin, A, vitamin; deficiency, A, Hypovitaminosis A, NOS, Vitamin A deficiency, NOS
Portuguese DEFICIENCIA DE VITAMINA A, Carência de vitamina A NE, Carência de vitamina A, Deficiência de Vitamina A
Dutch niet-gespecificeerde vitamine-A-deficiëntie, deficiëntie; vitamine, A, vitamine; deficiëntie, A, Vitamine A-deficiëntie, niet gespecificeerd, vitamine-A-deficiëntie, Vitamine A-deficiëntie, Caroteengebrek, Vitamine-A-gebrek, Caroteendeficiëntie, Deficiëntie, vitamine-A-, Vitamine-A-deficiëntie
French Carence en vitamines A non précisée, CARENCE EN VITAMINE A, Carence en vitamine A, Carence en rétinol, Déficit en vitamine A
German unspezifischer Vitamin A-Mangel, Vitamin-A-Mangel, nicht naeher bezeichnet, Vitamin A-Mangel, Vitamin-A-Mangel
Italian Carenza non specificata di vitamina A, Carenza di vitamina A
Spanish Déficit no especificado de vitamina A, hipovitaminosis A, SAI (trastorno), déficit de vitamina A (trastorno), hipovitaminosis A, SAI, deficiencia de vitamina A, déficit de vitamina A (concepto no activo), hipovitaminosis A (trastorno), hipovitaminosis A, Déficit de vitamina A, Deficiencia de Vitamina A
Japanese ビタミンA欠乏、詳細不明, ビタミンA欠乏, ビタミンAケツボウショウサイフメイ, ビタミンAケツボウ, ビタミンA欠乏症, ビタミンA欠乏
Swedish Vitamin A-brist
Finnish A-vitamiinin puutos
Russian VITAMINA A NEDOSTATOCHNOST', ВИТАМИНА A НЕДОСТАТОЧНОСТЬ
Czech Deficit vitaminu A, Blíže neurčený deficit vitaminu A, deficit vitaminu A, vitamin A - nedostatek, nedostatek vitaminu A
Korean 비타민 A 결핍증, 상세불명의 비타민 A 결핍증
Croatian VITAMIN A, NEDOSTATAK
Polish Hipowitaminoza A, Niedobór witaminy A
Hungarian A-vitamin hiány, Nem meghatározott A-vitamin hiány
Norwegian Vitamin A-mangel, Hypovitaminosis A, A-vitaminmangel