29-11-2012, 02:04 PM
ROLE OF HIGH DOSE(INTRAMUSCULAR) VITAMIN D FOR TREATMENT OF SEVERE PNEUMONIA IN UNDER FIVE CHILDREN –A RANDOMIZED CONTROL, INTERVENTION STUDY
BRIEF RESUME OF INTENDED WORK(INTRODUCTION)
Each year, there are more than 150 million cases of childhood pneumonia and nearly two million children under five lose their lives to an acute bout of pneumonia or another acute respiratory infection.1 Pneumonia remains a significant health problem in India with significant morbidity and mortality. There is increasing recognition that nutritional deficiencies, including micronutrients are important determinants of infections, including pneumonia, and their outcomes.2 Identifying an effective nutritional agent that reduces the need for antibiotics, duration of pneumonia and length of hospitalization would be highly cost-beneficial.3 Vitamin D deficiency is a common and important nutritional deficiency in children in India. Clinical and subclinical vitamin D deficiency in children has been reported to be a significant risk factor for severe acute lower respiratory tract infection.4 The effect of supplementation of vitamin D in children with pneumonia is lacking. Considering this, we plan to study whether Vitamin D, along with antibiotics, would improve the outcome of pneumonia.
Review of Literature:
Pneumonia is the leading cause of death for children under the age of five – more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined.2Ninety-five percent of all pneumonia infections in children under the age of 5 occur in developing countries. Over half of all child deaths due to pneumonia occur in just five countries: India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Afghanistan.5 Factors that put the children at increased risk of pneumonia include environmental pollution, improper childcare practices, increased transmission of pathogens, and nutrition-related practices and disorders. Consequently considerable research has aimed at finding effective interventions against ALRI such as immunization3 and case-management involving antibiotics.6 Micronutrient supplementation is another potential intervention. The role of micronutrient deficiency in pneumonia related mortality and morbidity is now gaining importance.