A study of vitamin D levels in critically ill children

Abstract

Objectives:
1. To assess the correlation between Vitamin D levels and critical illness.
2. To study correlation between Vitamin D and risk of mortality through PRISM III criteria.
3. To study demographic details associated with Vitamin D levels.
Methodology: A prospective observational hospital based study was conducted over a period of 18 months in 100 critically ill children fulfilling the inclusion criteria. The samples were used for Vitamin D estimation using Electro-Chemiiluminescence and Vitamin D levels were classified as per the Endocrine Society recommendations. Results: In our study, there was statistically very highly significant association between PRISM score with vitamin D deficiency.There was statistically very highly significant association between PRISM score with outcome (P<0.001).The deficiency was associated with increased length of stay in the ICU. Vitamin D deficiency is frequent in critically ill children, and it is related to both morbidity and mortality. Conclusion: Variables from this short study showed statistically significant associations between severity of critically ill children and serum vitamin D levels(p<0.001). Health education on the importance of sunlight exposure of young children should be reinforced in mothers and the general community. Vitamin D supplementation should be advocated in order to prevent the morbidity and mortality secondary to critically illness, which globally contribute to morbidity worldwide.