No abstract

In a randomized trial to determine whether oral vitamin E reduced stages III and IV bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) by 50%, 268 infants were randomly allocated, after stratification by birth weight and severity of disease, to receive vitamin E 25 units or an indistinguishable placebo. The experimental (E) group and the control (C) group were similar in weight, gestational ages, Apgar scores, severity of illness, and initial oxygen and ventilator exposure. Serum vitamin E levels were significantly different within 48 h of administration and remained well above normal adult levels from the first week of life in the experimental group. There was no difference in the rates of early death, BPD at 28 days, or mortality from BPD. Severity was similar and no difference was seen in the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis or sepsis. There was no evidence that vitamin E supplementation offered protection against chronic lung disease in infants less than 1,500 g birth weight.

The absorption of vitamin E, given by orogastric tube, was studied in premature infants who weighed less than 1.5 kg at birth. After the administration of either dl-alpha tocopherol or the acetate form, plasma tocopherol levels increased. In a second blind trial, 28 infants received either 25 units of dl-alpha tocopherol or placebo during the first six weeks of life. Plasma tocopherol levels in all treated infants were sustained in the normal adult range. The vitamin E-deficient state of premature infants can be corrected by oral therapy alone.

No abstract