Patients with cystic fibrosis need more vitamin D than current guidelines suggest

Article Outline

• Copyright

A retrospective chart review of 262 patients followed at Johns Hopkins Hospital was recently performed. A prevalence of vitamin D deficiency of 86.5% was found in 2003 and it declined to 46% by 2006. Vitamin D deficiency was more common in patients aged over 12 years, and it was also more common in fall and winter compared with spring and summer. The supplements were progressively increased during the period of study; however, a dose of ergocalciferol 50 000 units (IU) a week was inadequate to treat the majority of patients with CF with vitamin D deficiency.