Vitamin D status is associated with treatment failure and duration of illness in Nepalese children with severe pneumonia.

BackgroundThere is no consensus on optimal Vitamin D status. The objective of this study was to estimate the extent to which vitamin D status predicts illness duration and treatment failure in children with severe pneumonia by using different cutoffs for vitamin D concentration.MethodsWe measured the plasma concentration of 25(OH)D in 568 children hospitalized with World Health Organization-defined severe pneumonia. The associations between vitamin D status, using the most frequently used cutoffs for vitamin D insufficiency (25(OH)D<50 and <75 nmol/l), and risk for treatment failure and time until recovery were analyzed in multiple logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards models, respectively.ResultsOf the 568 children, 322 (56.7%) had plasma 25(OH)D levels ≥75 nmol/l, 179 (31.5%) had levels of 50-74.9 nmol/l, and 67 (%) had levels <50 nmol/l. Plasma 25(OH)D <50 nmol/l was associated with increased risk for treatment failure and longer time until recovery.ConclusionOur findings indicate that low vitamin D status (25(OH)D<50 nmol/l) is an independent risk factor for treatment failure and delayed recovery from severe lower respiratory infections in children.