PEDIATRICS Vol. 79 No. 1 January 1987, pp. 61-68
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Zipursky, A.
Right arrow Articles by Ling, E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Zipursky, A.
Right arrow Articles by Ling, E.

Oral Vitamin E Supplementation for the Prevention of Anemia in Premature Infants: A Controlled Trial

A. Zipursky MD1, E. J. Brown RT1, J. Watts MB, BS1, R. Milner BSc1, C. Rand BSc1, V. S. Blanchette MD1, E. F. Bell MD1, B. Paes MB, BCh, DCH1, and E. Ling MD1

1 From the Departments of Pediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, and the University of Toronto, Toronto, and the Departments of Pediatrics and Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Serum vitamin E levels are reduced in newborn infants. It has been reported that this deficiency is responsible, in part, for the development of anemia in premature infants during the first 6 weeks of life. The efficacy of vitamin E supplementation for the prevention of anemia in premature infants has been studied in a randomized, controlled, and blinded trial. Premature infants whose birth weights were less than 1,500 g were given, by gavage, 25 IU of dl-agr-tocopherol or a similar volume of the drug vehicle. Treatment was continued for the first 6 weeks of life. A total of 178 infants were studied. Vitamin E levels were significantly higher in a supplemented group by day 3 and for the remainder of the 6-week period. At 6 weeks of age, there was no significant difference between the supplemented and unsupplemented groups in hemoglobin concentration, reticulocyte and platelet counts, or erythrocyte morphology. It is concluded that there is no evidence to support a policy of administering vitamin E to premature infants to prevent the anemia of prematurity.

Key Words: vitamin E • anemia • premature infant • erythrocyte

Submitted on December 26, 1985
Accepted on May 9, 1986




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed.Home page
A Pathak, P Roth, J Piscitelli, and L Johnson
Effects of vitamin E supplementation during erythropoietin treatment of the anaemia of prematurity
Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed., July 1, 2003; 88(4): F324 - F328.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]