In a 45 year old patient with suspected vitamin A deficiency, supplementation of vitamin A (25,000 IU/day) should usually be given for a maximum of

• A. 14 days
• B. 3 days
• C. 90 days
• D. 180 days

Answer: (A)

The key idea is administering vitamin A to replenish stores quickly while minimizing the risk of toxicity. In adults with suspected deficiency, a short, high-intensity course is used to replete hepatic stores, after which therapy should not continue at the same high daily dose. A duration of about 14 days provides a practical window to restore level without pushing the risk of hypervitaminosis A higher. Extending treatment beyond two weeks increases the chance of adverse effects such as liver toxicity and other toxicity symptoms, while a much shorter period would likely be insufficient to correct the deficiency. Therefore, 14 days is the most appropriate maximum in this scenario. Shorter (3 days) would be unlikely to replete stores, and much longer (90 or 180 days) would pose toxicity risks.