Studies in developing countries have shown that children with measles have low serum retinol concentrations and that lower retinol levels are associated with measles-related mortality.
[We sought] to determine whether serum retinol concentration is low among children with measles in the United States and to determine whether retinol concentration is associated with illness severity.
A modified Pediatric Risk of Mortality (PRISM) score was used to assess physiologic instability as a measure of illness severity.
Median retinol concentrations were lower among hospitalized patients and patients with pneumonia…
Higher modified PRISM scores, reflecting greater physiologic instability, were associated with lower retinol concentration.
Among these children with measles in an urban United States community, retinol concentrations were depressed, and the degree of depression was associated with illness severity.
Vitamin A therapy should be considered for children with measles in the United States who require hospitalization.