Evidence map›Paper›PMID 19329516›Full record

SynthesisBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2009

Neonatal vitamin A supplementation for prevention of mortality and morbidity in infancy: systematic review of randomised controlled trials.

Siddhartha Gogia, Harshpal Singh Sachdev

Abstract readEvaluation StudySystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

24 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Siddhartha GogiaDepartment of Paediatrics and Clinical Epidemiology, Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research, B-16 Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi 110016, India.
Harshpal Singh Sachdev

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo evaluate the effect of neonatal vitamin A supplementation on infant mortality, morbidity and early adverse effects.

designSystematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression of randomised controlled trials. DATA SOURCES: Electronic databases and hand search of reviews; abstracts and proceedings of conferences. Review methods Randomised or quasi-randomised or cluster randomised, placebo controlled trials evaluating the effect of prophylactic, neonatal (<1 month) supplementation with synthetic vitamin A on mortality or morbidity within infancy (<1 year), and early adverse effects (</=7 days).

resultsThe six included trials were from developing countries. There was no convincing evidence of a reduced risk of mortality during infancy (relative risk 0.92, 95% confidence interval 0.75 to 1.12, P=0.393 random effect; I(2)=54.1%) or of an increase in early adverse effects including bulging fontanelle (1.16, 0.81 to 1.65, P=0.418; I(2)=65.3%). No variable emerged as a significant predictor of mortality, but data for important risk groups (high maternal night blindness prevalence and low birth weights) were restricted. Limited data (from one to four trials) did not indicate a reduced risk of mortality during the neonatal period (0.90, 0.75 to 1.08, P=0.270; I(2)=0%), cause specific mortality, common morbidities (diarrhoea and others), and admission to hospital. There was, however, evidence of an increased risk of acute respiratory infection and a reduced risk of clinic visits.

conclusionsThere is no convincing evidence of a reduced risk of mortality and possibly morbidity or of increased early adverse effects after neonatal supplementation with vitamin A. There is thus no justification for initiating such supplementation as a public health intervention in developing countries for reducing infant mortality and morbidity.

Indexed as

Dietary SupplementsInfant MortalityChild, PreschoolHumansInfantPerinatal CareRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicRegression AnalysisRisk FactorsTreatment OutcomeVitamin AVitaminsVitamin AVitamins

Identifiers

PMID19329516
PMCPMC2662092

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.