Vitamin D Level in Patients with COVID-19 and Its Relationship with Severity of The Clinical Course

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has killed millions of individuals and has led to the largest economic contraction since the Great Depression. The antiviral effects of vitamin D can hinder viral replication directly, and also be effective in an anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory way. Objective: This study aimed to estimate the serum levels of free 25 hydroxycholecalciferol (25(OH)-D) in patients with COVID-19 infection in correlation to clinical manifestations and severity in multicenter tertiary-care hospitals, Egypt. Subject and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 150 confirmed patients with COVID-19 by using RT-PCR for detection of the viral RNA. The COVID-19 patients were classified into four groups of mild (n=40) moderate (n=40), severe (n=40), and critical (n=30) based on disease severity. Serum concentrations of 25(OH)-D were tested using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results According to the current study results, all included patients (n=150) had a low level of serum levels of 25(OH)- D (11.46±4.47) in COVID -19 patients compared to normal levels. Interestingly, the levels of serum 25(OH)-D were significantly low in severe (9.5±2.71) and critical (6.26±2.58) groups compared to mild (16.37±2.62) and moderate (12.3±2.62) groups. Also, there was a significant positive correlation between serum 25(OH)-D levels and hemoglobin, platelets, albumin, and SPO2 values. On the other hand, there was a significant negative correlation between serum 25(OH)-D levels and LDH, C reactive protein, D dimer, and ferritin levels. Conclusions: Patients with COVID-19 in particular patients with severe and critical COVID -19 had a significantly low level of serum 25(OH)-D compared to mild and moderate cases, in addition, PSO2 and D dimer were independently correlated with serum 25(OH)-D, thus low serum 25(OH)-D level could be a predictor of severe and critical COVID - 19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine is the property of Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)