Relationship between level of serum vitamin D and pneumonia and sepsis in Minia pediatric university hospital at period between 2019 and 2021

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH] D) levels have been associated with increased susceptibility to and severity of respiratory infections and sepsis. Hypovitaminosis D may be a modifiable risk factor in the severity of respiratory illnesses and sepsis. The hypothesis for this study was that children hospitalized for respiratory illnesses and sepsis would have lower serum 25(OH)D levels than controls and that 25(OH)D levels would be associated with illness severity among cases. METHODS: A study of a sample of patients aged 6 months through 12 years hospitalized at Minia paediatric university hospital was performed. Cases were children hospitalized for acute respiratory illnesses, sepsis and controls were children hospitalized for nonrespiratory illnesses. Illness severity among cases was assessed according to hospital length of stay, ICU admission, peripheral oxygen saturation, and paediatric risk of admission II score. Associations between serum 25(OH)D levels and dependent variables were tested for by using binary logistic and multivariable linear regression while controlling for admission diagnosis, age, gender, and race/ ethnicity. RESULTS: There was significant difference (p=0.0001*) between groups regarding vit D, its mean was higher in controls (63.7±23.1) than other groups (13.4±4.1 and 9.3±5.09 for pneumonia and sepsis respectively), also they show that there is non-significant difference (p3=0.2) between pneumonia group and sepsis group, its mean was higher in pneumonia (13.4±4.1) than in sepsis (9.3±5.09). CONCLUSIONS: Hypovitaminosis D was common among pneumonia and sepsis cases and it was normal among controls, moreover it was significantly associated with the presence or severity of respiratory illnesses.