VITAMIN D AND PNEUMONIA

Background: Pneumonia is lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) andrepresents inflammatory conditions of the lungs i.e of the lower respiratory tracts, air sacs andlung parenchyma.1 Objectives: To determine the role of vitamin D supplementation in reducingmorbidity in children with pneumonia. Study Design: Randomized Controlled trial. Place andDuration of Study: Pediatric Department, Mayo Hospital Lahore from December 2014 to May2015. Patient & Methods: Two hundred children of age 2 – 59 months with pneumonia (fever,cough, tachypnea, and subcostal recessions) and low vitamin D level (< 20 ng/ml) were includedin the study. One Hundred pneumonia patients received antibiotics (group A) and vitamins D(100,000 IU) while another group of hundred patients received only antibiotics without vitaminsupplementation (group B). When respiratory distress settled, length of stay in hospital wascalculated at the time of discharged. All patients were followed in pediatric OPDs for 3 monthsafter in-hospital treatment to pick recurrence of pneumonia symptoms (if any). Results: Themean recovery time for vitamin D group (5.7 +2.8 days) and non-vitamin D (6.1+2.8 days)was almost same with P=0.29. But the frequency of repeated episodes of pneumonia within30 days of treatment was lower in intervention group n=4 (2%) than the non-intervention groupn=18 (9%) (P = 0.002). Conclusion: 100,000 IU of vitamin D given once during treatment ofpneumonia decreases the chances of recurrence in the next 30 days.