Correlation of Vitamin D Deficiency with Predictors of Mortality in Critically Ill Children at a Tertiary Care Centre in North India—A Prospective, Observational Study

This study was conducted to assess the relationship of vitamin D deficiency (VDD) with various demographic characteristics, laboratory parameters, and predictors of mortality. This prospective observational study was performed at pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of a tertiary care hospital situated in north India. A total of 125 children admitted in PICU with age from 2 months to 14 years were analyzed. The subjects were classified as Vitamin D deficient (≤20 ng/mL) and nondeficient (>20 ng/mL). The relationship between VDD and predictors of mortality were analyzed using correlation and multivariate analysis. Respiratory system (40%) was most commonly involved. VDD was seen in 72% of the patients. There was statistically significant correlation of VDD with age ( p  = 0.019), season ( p  = 0.018), height ( p  = 0.005), and weight ( p  = 0.003). On multivariate analysis factors associated with VDD were age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.01, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.00-1.03, p  = 0.006), season (OR = 3.98, 95% CI 1.09-14.50, p  = 0.036). VDD was also correlated to bacteriuria ( p  = 0.033), cardiovascular sequential sepsis-related organ failure assessment score (CV-SOFA score) ( p  = 0.001), and mechanical ventilation ( p  = 0.043). On multivariate analysis, factors associated with VDD were bacteriuria (OR = 4.88, 95% CI 1.04-22.89, p  = 0.04), mechanical ventilation requirement (OR = 2.95, 95% CI 1.12-7.85, p  = 0.029), and CV-SOFA score (OR = 2.33, 95% CI 1.14-4.76, p  = 0.021). Median (interquartile range) duration of PICU stay in VDD patients was (3-7) days while in nondeficient patients it was (2-6) days ( p  = 0.107). VDD was a significant risk factor for the need of mechanical ventilation, bacteriuria, and mortality among patients in our cohort.