"Sun in a bottle" levels in COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit patients and associated outcomes: an observational study

BACKGROUND: Observational studies showed the association of low levels of vitamin D with COVID-19 susceptibility, severity and mortality outcomes. Vitamin D, so called “sun in a bottle,” is known to have immuno-modulatory effects. The main goal of this observational study was to see if there is a possible connection between vitamin D levels and various clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients in need of respiratory support admitted to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) from November 2021 to April 2022.METHODS: On admission, vitamin D levels were measured, and patients were divided into two groups: low vitamin D level (<50 nmol/L) and normal vitamin D level (>50 nmol/L).RESULTS: There were 292 COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU in study period of which 117 patients were eligible for inclusion in this study. Of those, 34% of patients had normal and 66% had low vitamin D levels. There was no statistically significant difference in measured outcomes between patients with normal and those with low vitamin D levels treated in ICU for severe COVID-19. There were no differences in any of the clinical outcomes in patients with normal compared to those with low vitamin D levels measured on admission to the ICU.CONCLUSIONS: Further studies on a larger number of patients are needed as well as interventional trials with vitamin D supplementation.