Cod liver oil, young children, and upper respiratory tract infections.

Cod liver oil contains long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, as well as vitamins D and A. It was a traditional source of vitamin D in the United States and was used to prevent and treat rickets. In our clinical research, we used liquid cod liver oil of adequate purity and acceptable taste for infants and young children, as well as a children's multivitamin/mineral supplement with selenium and other trace metals.

Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in young children undergoing placement of tympanostomy tubes.

Objectives: We report the plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels of 16 young children who were undergoing ambulatory surgery for placement of tympanostomy tubes.

Methods: We previously obtained blood samples from young children who were undergoing ambulatory surgery and reported that they had lower blood levels than adults of eicosapentaenoic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid), vitamin A, and selenium. Plasma frozen continuously at -80 degrees C was available from 16 subjects who were undergoing placement of tympanostomy tubes.

Effect of daily cod liver oil and a multivitamin-mineral supplement with selenium on upper respiratory tract pediatric visits by young, inner-city, Latino children: randomized pediatric sites.

We studied the effect of daily supplementation with lemon-flavored cod liver oil and a children's multivitamin-mineral supplement containing selenium on the number of pediatric visits by young, inner-city, Latino children from late autumn of 2002 through early spring of 2003. Two private pediatric offices with similar demographics, located 1.1 miles apart in upper Manhattan, New York City, were randomized to a supplementation site and a medical records control site.

Nutritional supplements as adjunctive therapy for children with chronic/recurrent sinusitis: pilot research.

Objective: Inflammation and edema of the sinonasal mucosa are important in the pathophysiology of sinusitis. Based on the similarities between otitis media (OM) and sinusitis, and our previous research on OM, we hypothesized that nutritional supplements would be effective adjunctive therapy for the treatment of children with chronic/recurrent sinusitis.

Methods: We performed a 4 month, open-label, dose-titration study; subjects were enrolled from late January to early March 2003.

Lemon-flavored cod liver oil and a multivitamin-mineral supplement for the secondary prevention of otitis media in young children: pilot research.

We measured blood levels of fatty acids, vitamin A, and trace metals in children undergoing ambulatory surgery for placement of tympanostomy tubes and a comparison group having other ambulatory surgical procedures. We then performed a small, outpatient, secondary prevention study using nutritional supplements chosen on the basis of those blood levels. The study subjects had lower levels of red blood cell eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) than did adult controls.