The prevalence of vitamin A deficiency was found high in children with sepsis. Whether those patients will benefit from the vitamin A supplementation is unknown.

It was reported that the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency was highly as 58% in critically ill children with sepsis. However, whether those patients will benefit from the vitamin A supplementation is unknown. We design an randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center trial to investigate the effect of vitamin A supplementation on the outcome of critically ill children with sepsis.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. age < 18 years,
2. Expected to stay in the ICU for 48 hours or more,
3. Vitamin A deficiency (VA < 0.2 mg/L)

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Severely impaired gastrointestinal function
2. Premature infants and low birth weight (LBW) infants
3. Condition of underlying organ dysfunction
4. Having received chemotherapy or radiotherapy
5. Hematological malignancies
6. Primary or acquired immunodeficiency