Mar 24, 2014 - Schisterman EF, Perkins NJ, Liu A, Bondell H: Optimal cut-point and its ... Maxwell JD: Seasonal variation in vitamin D. Proc Nutr Soc 1994, ...
Vitamin D status and its association with season, hospital and sepsis mortality in critical illness Amrein et al. Amrein et al. Critical Care 2014, 18:R47 http://ccforum.com/content/18/2/R47
Amrein et al. Critical Care 2014, 18:R47 http://ccforum.com/content/18/2/R47
RESEARCH
Open Access
Vitamin D status and its association with season, hospital and sepsis mortality in critical illness Karin Amrein1*†, Paul Zajic1†, Christian Schnedl1, Andreas Waltensdorfer2, Sonja Fruhwald2, Alexander Holl3, Tadeja Urbanic Purkart3, Gerit Wünsch4, Thomas Valentin5, Andrea Grisold6, Tatjana Stojakovic7, Steven Amrein2,8, Thomas R Pieber1,9 and Harald Dobnig1
Abstract Introduction: Vitamin D plays a key role in immune function. Deficiency may aggravate the incidence and outcome of infectious complications in critically ill patients. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and the correlation between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH) D) and hospital mortality, sepsis mortality and blood culture positivity. Methods: In a single-center retrospective observational study at a tertiary care center in Graz, Austria, 655 surgical and nonsurgical critically ill patients with available 25(OH) D levels hospitalized between September 2008 and May 2010 were included. Cox regression analysis adjusted for age, gender, severity of illness, renal function and inflammatory status was performed. Vitamin D levels were categorized by month-specific tertiles (high, intermediate, low) to reflect seasonal variation of serum 25(OH) D levels. Results: Overall, the majority of patients were vitamin D deficient (
