TO STUDY THE SPECTRUM OF VITAMIN A DEFICIENCY IN PAEDIATRICS PATIENTS IN TERTIARY HEALTH CARE CENTRE.

Abstract

Background- Vitamin A deficiency disorder spectrum had the unique distinction of being one of the most important causes of 'Preventable Blindness' the world over, and Xerophthalmia still remains a problem in the developing countries. Aim of our study to study the spectrum of vitamin-A Deficiency in paediatrics patients in tertiary health care centre.
Methods and materials- This is a cross-sectional observational study conducted by the Department of ophthalmology and paediatrics at Indira Gandhi Memorial Medical College, Chhattisgarh. All the children between 12-59 months of age seeking medical attention or routine immunisation were included for a period of 2 year from August 2022-24. Children with prior vaccination outside Chhattisgarh, Children who were already part of previous study and Children whose parents/guardian were not willing to participate were excluded. A total of 400 children were included in this study.
Results: Vitamin A deficiency signs was noted in 2 (0.5%) children belonging to 24-35 months age group. Vitamin A supplementation with 1 dose in last 6 months was received by only 134 (33.5%) children, indicating very low VAS coverage. 28 (7%) children were having moderate wasting while 3 (1%) children were having severe wasting. 21 (5%) children were having moderate stunting and 2 (0.5%) were having severe stunting. No children received full 9 doses of vitamin a. Reason for partial or no VAS coverage in majority (56.5%) cases was unawareness about 9 doses of vitamin A supplementation as well as its importance.
Conclusion- Vitamin A supplementation (VAS) is one of the most cost-effective interventions for reducing childhood mortality, and improving vitamin A status is associated with a significant reduction in all cause childhood mortality. Similarly, in our study, we found that VAS significantly reduces the episodes of major and minor illness in under 5 children and a significant proportion of children with wasting had not receive VAS appropriately.