What dose of Vitamin-A is given at 9 months?

Appeared in: Bihar CHO - 2021

Explanation

According to India's National Immunization Schedule (NIS), the first dose of Vitamin A is administered at 9 completed months of age.
The recommended dose at this specific age is 100,000 IU (1 lakh IU), which is equivalent to 1 ml of the oral solution.
This first dose is strategically timed to be given concurrently with the first dose of the Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccine.

Option B: This is the standard dose for subsequent administrations, not the initial dose given at 9 months.
Option C: This is an excessively high and potentially toxic dose (hypervitaminosis A) and is never used for routine prophylaxis.
Option D: This is not a standard recommended dose within the National Immunization Schedule for Vitamin A supplementation.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: Knowing Vitamin A prophylaxis schedule as per the National Immunization Schedule (NIS) of India helps nurses interpret findings accurately and avoid errors in routine assessment, medication administration, and patient teaching.
Administering the correct Vitamin A dose is a critical nursing function to prevent deficiency-related blindness (xerophthalmia) and reduce child mortality from illnesses like measles and diarrhea.
Nurses must accurately document the administration in the child's immunization card to prevent accidental over- or under-dosing during subsequent health visits.
What if? If a 12-month-old child presents for their first-ever immunization visit, the nurse should administer the 9-month schedule, including the 1 lakh IU dose of Vitamin A, and provide a catch-up schedule for other missed vaccines.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the key elements of the question: the supplement ('Vitamin-A'), the specific age ('9 months'), and the required information ('dose').
Recognize that this is a factual recall question based on a standard protocol, the National Immunization Schedule (NIS).
Recall the specifics of the Vitamin A prophylaxis schedule. Remember that the first dose given at 9 months is different from all subsequent doses.
The first dose is 1 lakh IU. All later doses (from 16-24 months to 5 years) are 2 lakh IU.
Compare this recalled fact with the given options. '1 lakh IU' directly matches the correct dose.
Eliminate the other options: '2 lakh IU' is for older children, and '4 lakh IU' and '1.5 lakh IU' are not standard doses in the schedule.

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Vitamin A prophylaxis schedule as per the National Immunization Schedule (NIS) of India.
Stem keywords: Vitamin-A, dose, 9 months
Lead-in keywords: What
Clinical cues: Age: 9 months - This is the specific time point for the first dose of Vitamin A, which has a unique dosage compared to subsequent doses.
Negative lead-in flag: false

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E6 Parks TextBook of Preventive & Social Medicine part 1 — Subpart A (pp 26-201 of 604) p. 121-123

E6 Parks TextBook of Preventive & Social Medicine part 2 — Subpart A (pp 1-232 of 464) p. 178-180

Practise the full Bihar CHO - 2021

Attempt every question from this paper in a timed mock, then review the full solution for each one.