PEDIATRICS Vol. 74 No. 6 December 1984, pp. 1114-1116
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E-Ferol: What Happened and What Now?

DALE L. PHELPS MD1

1 Departments of Pediatrics and Ophthalmology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York

In October 1983, an intravenous form of vitamin E was marketed as a nutritional supplement but promoted and used pharmacologically for the prevention of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). By April 1984, E-ferol was recalled following the deaths of 38 infants who had received the drug. Why did they die, does vitamin E even prevent ROP, and can it be given safely?

WHY DID THEY DIE?

Naturally occurring vitamin E is tocopherol, a fatty alcohol that is absorbed unchanged with other fats from the gastrointestinal tract. Several esters of the parent compound are available. The acetate ester is the form generally found in oral preparations, and the form available in parenteral multivitamin preparations.