INTRODUCTION: The inflammation observed in patients with IBD can negatively impact the intake or absorption of vitamin D. This can increase the risk of disease relapse, impact patients’ quality of life, and increase the risk of IBD related surgeries. In addition to the traditional observation that vitamin D deficiency may be a comorbid manifestation of IBD, there is now growing evidence pointing to serum vitamin D levels as a pathogenic factor contributing to the initiation and propagation of mucosal inflammation in patients with IBD. It is well-established that variation in clinical practice leads to less optimal outcomes in any clinical setting. The relative scarcity of clinical and translational studies is even more pronounced in the pediatric population.
OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this study is to quantify the prevalence of clinician assessment of vitamin D levels in pediatric patients with IBD. We will also look at this behavior in subpopulations and compare their vitamin D status. It is secondary for this study to also describe variations in physician practices with respect to the testing and treatment of vitamin D deficiency at a single tertiary care IBD Center.
METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study on consecutive patients with UC, CD, and ID, that were followed in the ambulatory program in the Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Boston Children’s Hospital from 1/1/2014 to 12/31/2014. We identified 498 patients and collected their demographic information, serologic testing, and physician prescribing behavior.
RESULTS: Out of the entire population, 64% of the patients were vitamin D deficient (vitamin D level below 32 ng/ml). 24% of the patients received vitamin D supplementation. Vitamin D deficiency was less prevalent in patients with UC than those with CD, with an OR of 0.64 (95% CI 0.43-0.94). Out of the ones receiving supplementation, 37% of them were deficient. In terms of physician practice trends, 62% of the patients were not formally prescribed supplementation. 14.5% of those who were prescribed supplementation were receiving 50,000 IU weekly, and the rest receiving 400 – 2,000 IU daily. Patients with vitamin D levels below 20 ng/ml were more likely to receive the high dose vitamin D prescription (OR 11.5) than those with levels between 20 and 30 ng/ml (OR 5.7).
CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that despite high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in pediatric patients with IBD, there is a lack of consensus with respect to the assessment of vitamin D levels and consistency in prescribing vitamin D supplementation. With the potential role that vitamin D plays in IBD pathology and suggestions of the therapeutic effects of vitamin D supplementation, further studies are needed to explore this area.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/24023 |
| Date | 13 July 2017 |
| Creators | Yang, Timothy |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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