Vitamin A supplementation is effective for improving the clinical symptoms of urinary tract infections and reducing renal scarring in girls with acute pyelonephritis: a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled, clinical trial study.

INTRODUCTION: It is believed that tubulointerstitial inflammation plays a role in the formation of renal scarring secondary to acute pyelonephritis (APN). Vitamin A is an anti-inflammatory agent that is involved in the re-epithelialization of damaged mucosal surfaces. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of vitamin A supplementation in combination with antibiotics for improving urinary tract infections (UTIs) symptoms and preventing renal scarring in girls with APN. STUDY DESIGN: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted on 90 girls aged 2 to 12 years old between 2015 and 2017. Patients with UTIs and first episode of APN diagnosed based on 99 mTc-DMSA scintigraphy (uptake defect) were assessed for eligibility. Patients were randomly divided into two groups that either received 10 days of oral vitamin A (intervention group) or 10 days of placebo (control group) in addition to antibiotics during the acute phase of infection. The clinical response was considered as the primary outcome [duration (positive days) of UTI symptoms during trial treatment period] and secondary outcomes (no change, improving and or worsening of 99 mTc-DMSA scan results 6 months after treatment from baseline). P < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS: Seventy-four patients (vitamin A group: 36 patients, placebo: 38 patients) were included in the analysis. The mean age was 5.25 ± 1 year old. Three patients (7.89%) in the placebo group and 2 patients (5.55%) in the vitamin A group had vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) (p = 0.114). Duration of fever (vitamin A group: 1.8 days, placebo: 3.1 days, p = 0.0026), urinary frequency (1.3 days vs. 2.8 days, p = 0.003) and poor feeding (2.3 days vs. 4.2 days, p = 0.005) were significantly lower in the vitamin A group. Following the second 99 mTc-DMSA scan, worsening of lesions was observed among 8 (22.2%) and 17 (44.7%) patients in the vitamin A and placebo groups, respectively (p = 0.003). 63.8% (23 patients) of the vitamin A group and 21% (8 patients) of placebo group showed lesion improving in the photopenic region. (P < 0.0001) There was no evidence of vitamin A intolerance. DISCUSSION: Our results show the efficacy of vitamin A supplementation on reducing renal scarring secondary to APN and on fever, urinary frequency and poor feeding duration in girls with APN. CONCLUSION: Vitamin A supplementation is effective for improving the clinical symptoms of UTI and reducing renal injury and scarring following APN in girls with first APN. However, larger randomized clinical trials (RCTs) with longer follow up are needed to confirm these effects.

Zinc Supplementation in Treatment of Children With Urinary Tract Infection.

INTRODUCTION: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is very common in children. Precocious diagnosis and appropriate treatment are important because of the permanent disease complications. Zinc increases the response to treatment in many infections. In this study, we explored the effect of zinc in treating UTI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two hundred children with UTI were divided into 2 groups of 100 who were comparable in terms of age, sex, urine laboratory profiles, and clinical signs and symptoms. The control group received a standard treatment protocol for UTI and the intervention group received oral zinc sulfate syrup plus routine treatment of UTI. RESULTS: A faster recovery was observed in the patients receiving zinc, but abdominal pain was exacerbated by zinc and lasted longer. Three months after the treatment, there was no significant difference between the two groups in the time of fever stop and negative urine culture. CONCLUSIONS: In children with UTI, zinc supplementation has a positive effect in ameliorating severe dysuria and urinary frequency while the use of this medication is not recommended in the presence of abdominal pain.

Antimycobacterial activity assessment of three ethnobotanical plants against Mycobacterium Tuberculosis: An In Vitro study.

OBJECTIVE/BACKGROUND: Resistances to herbal medicines are still not defined and finding natural remedies against drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) has research priority. The antimycobacterial susceptibility method for herbal extracts is unclearly defined and there is no standard method for assessment of the materials against bacteria. In the present study, time kill of three medicinal plants was determined against MTB. METHODS: The clinical isolate of MTB from a patient who harbored confirmed tuberculosis was used in the study. Aqueous extracts of Aloe vera leaves, mint, and Hypericum perforatum were prepared using reflux distillation. Disk diffusion methods were conducted in Petri dishes and McCartney bottles containing Löwenstein-Jensen medium to measure the sensitivity of plant extracts in serial concentrations of 0.25-8mg/mL. A pour plate method was performed by mixing 0.7mL of each concentration of extract in 5mL Löwenstein-Jensen medium followed by surface culturing of MTB fresh cells. The time kill method was conducted by bacterial suspension in equal amounts of the extract and viable evaluation in fresh culture at the beginning, and at 24-h, 48-h, 72-h, and 1-week intervals. All cultures were incubated at 37°C for 4weeks. Inoculum concentrations were considered as a variable. RESULTS: The zones of inhibition of A. vera, H. perforatum, and mint extracts in the disk diffusion method in McCartney bottles were 60mm, 41mm, and zero, respectively, but Petri dishes did not have repeatable results. In the pour plate method, an extract concentration up to 1mg/mL could inhibit cell growth. In mint extract, colony forming was four times more than the others at 0.5mg/mL. Time kill of 95% of cells occurred when exposed to extracts of A. vera and H. perforatum separately, but was 50% in 24 h and 20% in 10 min. The time kill for mint was 95% in 1week. CONCLUSION: The results give some scientific basis to the use of plant extracts for growth control of MTB cells. Clinical trials are recommended for assessment of the extract as complementary medicine, as well as for antisepsis.

Arginine adjunctive therapy in active tuberculosis.

Background. Dietary supplementation has been used as a mechanism to augment the immune system. Adjunctive therapy with L-arginine has the potential to improve outcomes in active tuberculosis. Methods. In a randomized clinical trial 63 participants with smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis in Markazi Province of Iran were given arginine or placebo for 4 weeks in addition to conventional chemotherapy. The final treatment success, sputum conversion, weight gain, and clinical symptoms after one and two months were considered as primary outcomes and secondary outcomes were ESR, CRP, and Hg. Data were collected and analyzed with SPSS software (ver. 18). Results. Arginine supplementation reduced constitutional symptoms (P = 0.032) in patients with smear-positive TB at the end of the first month of treatment. Arginine treated patients had significantly increased BMI at the end of the first and second months of treatment (P = 0.032 and P = 0.04) and a reduced CRP at the end of the first month of treatment (P = 0.03) versus placebo group. Conclusion. Arginine is useful as an adjunctive therapy in patients with active tuberculosis, in which the effects are more likely mediated by the increased production of nitric oxide and improved constitutional symptoms and weight gain. This trial is registered with Clinical Trials Registry of Iran: IRCT201211179855N2.