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Vitamin D status in critically ill children

Constance Rippel1, Michael South, Warwick W Butt

  • 1Department of Paediatric Intensive Care, The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.

Intensive Care Medicine
|October 12, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Vitamin D deficiency is common in critically ill children, affecting 34.5%. While not linked to longer hospital stays or mortality, it is associated with increased inotrope use in pediatric cardiac patients.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
  • Endocrinology
  • Nutritional Science

Background:

  • Hypovitaminosis D is a known risk factor for various health issues in adults, including cardiovascular disease and immune dysfunction.
  • While common in critically ill adults, the prevalence and impact of hypovitaminosis D in critically ill children remain largely unknown.
  • Understanding vitamin D status in pediatric intensive care is crucial for optimizing patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in critically ill children.
  • To investigate the association between hypovitaminosis D and key physiological/biochemical variables.
  • To examine the relationship between hypovitaminosis D and pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) length of stay and hospital mortality.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective study was conducted involving 316 critically ill children.
  • Prevalence of hypovitaminosis D was defined as 25(OH)D(3) <50 nmol/L.
  • Associations with physiological variables, PICU stay, and mortality were analyzed.

Main Results:

  • The prevalence of hypovitaminosis D was 34.5% in the studied pediatric population.
  • Hypovitaminosis D was significantly more common in postoperative cardiac patients (40.5%) compared to general medical ICU patients (22.6%).
  • Patients with hypovitaminosis D had lower ionized calcium levels and higher inotrope scores (in cardiac patients), but no association was found with PICU stay or hospital mortality.

Conclusions:

  • Hypovitaminosis D is prevalent in critically ill children.
  • The condition is associated with increased need for inotropic support in postoperative pediatric cardiac patients.
  • Hypovitaminosis D was not found to be associated with prolonged PICU admission or increased hospital mortality in this cohort.
Abstract

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