Correlation of admission serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and clinical outcomes in critically ill medical patients

Abstract

Summary Purpose The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of hypovitaminosis D and the correlation of admission serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) levels and clinical outcomes in critically ill medical patients. Methods A prospective, observational study was conducted. All critically ill medical patients admitted to the medical ICU were recruited. Blood sampling for serum 25-OHD was taken within 24 h after ICU admission. The levels of 25-OHD were dichotomized into deficiency and sufficiency groups. A serum 25-OHD level Results From 116 cases, the incidence of hypovitaminosis D was 64.66%. The median serum 25-OHD was 15.1 (3.0, 67.2) ng/dL. There was no difference in 28-day mortality between the vitamin D statuses (20% vs. 17.1%, p = 0.70). However, the ICU-acquired infection tended to be higher in the vitamin D deficiency group but this was not statistically significant (25.3% vs. 19.5%, p = 0.07). Other secondary outcomes were comparable between the groups. Vitamin D levels were significantly correlated to the severity of illness of critically ill medical patients (r = −0.258, p = 0.005.) Conclusions The incidence of hypovitaminosis D in critically ill medical patients in our region was high. In this current finding, vitamin D deficiency in critically ill medical patients may not related to 28-day mortality, ICU and hospital mortality, ICU and hospital length of stay, mechanical ventilator days or ICU-acquired infection, but vitamin D levels were significantly correlated to the severity of the illness. However, the larger study is required to confirm this finding. Trial registration The study protocol is retrospectively registered at the Thai Clinical Trial Registry (TCTR) with the identification number TCTR20180211004.