Vitamin D status of critically ill patients with Covid-19

Abstract

Rationale: Vitamin D may enhance the immune response against respiratory viruses. Vitamin D treatment might decrease the incidence of viral respiratory tract infections in patients with vitamin D deficiency(1). NICE guidance(2) concluded further research is required to confirm the impact of vitamin D on COVID-19 and studies are currently in progress. It is not common practice to test vitamin D status on admission to intensive care units (ICU). We sought to determine the vitamin D status of acutely severe respiratory failure patients presenting with COVID-19 in a large tertiary ICU in the UK.