A prospective investigational study of vitamin D status in patients with hospital-acquired pneumonia

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) is the most common healthcare-associated infection (HCAI) contributing to death. Rising antimicrobial resistance has resulted in few effective antibiotics for HAP. Stimulation of human immunity and immunomodulation have been reported as a role of vitamin D. Objectives The objectives of this study were to investigate vitamin D status of HAP patients and to examine if vitamin D status was related to the severity of HAP. Method Patients with a diagnosis were recruited for a 3-month period from two acute hospitals. Vitamin D levels of participants were obtained. Key findings Sixty-one participants were recruited with a mean age 72 years, with 77% of the participants over 65 years of age. Severe HAP was diagnosed in 92% of the participants, 5% had moderate and 3% had mild HAP. Vitamin D deficiency (<50 nmol/L) was found in 80% of the participants and 41% of the participants were found to be suffering from severe vitamin D deficiency (<15 nmol/L). Participants that had adequate vitamin D levels (12/61) (20%) were all taking prophylactic vitamin D on admission. Overall, 26/61 (43%) of the participants were taking prescribed prophylactic vitamin D supplementation on admission and despite this supplementation,14/26 (54%) were found to be vitamin D deficient. Conclusion Vitamin D deficiency was highly prevalent in the HAP participants. Vitamin D deficiency was also present in some participants, despite prescribed prophylactic supplementation. Vitamin D stimulates immunity and hence vitamin D deficiency would have potentially increased the susceptibility of acquiring HAP.