Vitamin A levels in sputum-positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients in comparison with household contacts and healthy 'normals'.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate serum vitamin A in pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients at the start and end of anti-tuberculosis treatment. DESIGN: Serum vitamin A was estimated in 47 PTB patients (pre and post treatment), 46 healthy household contacts and 30 healthy 'normals'. RESULTS: Mean serum vitamin A in patients at the start of treatment was 21.2 microg/dl, which was significantly lower than in household contacts (42.2 microg/dl) and healthy 'normals' (48.1 microg/dl). The vitamin A levels in patients increased following treatment. CONCLUSION: The low vitamin A levels observed in patients returned to normal at the end of anti-tuberculosis treatment without vitamin A supplementation.