Comparison of Iron-Supplementation Versus Combination of Vitamin-A & Iron-supplementation in Childhood Iron Deficiency Anaemia

Abstract

Background and Objectives: childhood anemia is highly prevalent worldwide and its effective treatment is the cornerstone to improve health of these children. This study was conducted to compare the mean rise in haemoglobin (Hb) after iron-alone versus the combination of vitamin-A & iron supplementation in childhood iron-deficiency anemia.Methods: This randomized controlled trial was done at Paediatrics Medicine Department, Jinnah Hospital, Lahore from January-2019 to June-2019. A total of 60 cases, as per inclusion criteria were enrolled from the Paediatric Medicine Department of Jinnah Hospital Lahore. Group-A was supplemented with a combination of vitamin-A and iron while Group-B patients were supplemented with Iron alone. Hb was checked at baseline and after 3 months of treatment as per the designated group. All information, as per predesigned proforma, was entered and interpreted using SPSS version 23.0. An Independent sample t-test was applied and a p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Sixty patients were included, keeping 30 in each group i.e. Group-A (Vitamin-A + Iron) & Group-B (Iron-alone). In both groups, most of the patients were male, i.e. 22(73.3%) and 23(76.7%) in group-A and group-B respectively. In group-A, the mean age was 1.96±1.6 years while 2.12±1.5 years in group-B. In group-A, the mean rise in Hb level after 3-months of treatment was 3.0±0.99 g/dl, on the other hand, it was 1.96±1.00 g/dl in group B, with a p-value of 0.00014.Conclusion: Vitamin-A supplementation combined with iron replacement therapy is recommended for substantial improvement among children with iron deficiency anemia.Keywords: Vitamin-A, Iron-Supplementation, Hemoglobin (Hb), Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA).