Abstract
Vitamin E deficiency in premature infants has been described as being associated with low hemoglobin levels in the 2nd month of life. Recently, low vitamine E concentrations were suspected as being associated with sudden death in infancy. As vitamin E is absorbed incompletely from the premature's intestine, vitamin E levels in the serum were determined in 80 prematures on the 10th day of life. The result was correlated to the clinical course of the infants and to the hemoglobin levels up to the 30th day.
Low concentrations of vitamin E and lower hemoglobin levels were found more frequently in newborns, whose clinical course was characterized by additional complications and who received parenteral nutrition. A group of uncomplicated newborns showed no correlation of vitamin E to hemoglobin values. Thus early diagnosis of vitamin E-dependent anemia is not possible and the usefulness of vitamin E should be investigated only in newborns with an uneventful clinical course.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Chambers, D.: The pattern of sudden infant death in inner North London in 1973. Publ. Hlth (Lond.) 89, 145 (1975)
György, P., Cogan, G., Rose, C. S.: Availability of vitamin E in the newborn infant. Proc. Soc. exp. Biol. (N.Y.) 81, 536 (1952)
Hansen, L. G., Warwick, W. J.: A fluorometric micromethod for serum vitamins A and E. Amer. J. clin. Path. 51, 538 (1969)
Hashim, S. A., Asfour, R. H.: Tocopherol in infants fed diets rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids. Amer. J. clin. Nutr. 21, 7 (1968)
Hassan, H., Hashim, S. A., van Itallie, T. B., Sebrell, W. H.: Syndrome in premature infants associated with low plasma vitamin E levels and high polyunsaturated fatty acid diet. Amer. J. clin. Nutr. 19, 147 (1966)
Lo, S. S., Frank, D., Hitzig, W. H.: Vitamin E and haemolytic anaemia in premature infants. Arch. Dis. Childh. 48, 360 (1973)
Melhorn, D. K., Gross, S., Childers, G.: Vitamin E-dependent anemia in the premature infant. II. Relationship between gestational age and absorption of vitamin E. J. Pediat. 79, 581 (1971)
Nitkowsky, H. M., Cornblath, M., Gordon, H. H.: II. Studies of tocopherol deficiency in infants and children. Amer. J. Dis. Childh. 92, 164 (1956)
Oski, F. A., Barness, L. A.: Vitamin E deficiency: a previously unrecognized cause of hemolytic anemia in the premature infant. J. Pediat. 70, 211 (1967)
Ritchie, J. H., Fish, M. B., McMasters, V., Grossman, M.: Edema and hemolytic anemia in premature infants. New Engl. J. Med. 279, 1185 (1968)
Schmidt, E., Guthoff, W., Müntefering, H.: Säuglingssterblichkeit 1973. Prospektive Einzelfallanalyse in Düsseldorf. München-Berlin-Wien: Urban & Schwarzenberg 1974
Tapp, E., Anfield, C.: Vitamin-E deficiency in cot deaths. Lancet 1975 I, 467
Witting, L. A.: The role of polyunsaturated fatty acids in determining vitamin E requirement. International conference on vitamin E and its role in cellular metabolism. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 203, 192 (1972)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Auszugsweise vorgetragen anläßlich der 24. Tagung der Nordwestdeutschen Gesellschaft für Kinderheilkunde, Kiel, 6.-8. 6. 1975.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Petrich, C., von Voss, H., Lietke, K. et al. Vitamin E concentrations in term and preterm newborns and their clinical course. Eur J Pediatr 122, 275–279 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00481507
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00481507