Calcitriol trend following pediatric cardiac surgery and association with clinical outcome

Background Consistent with accepted practice in stable ambulatory populations, the majority of ICU research has evaluated vitamin D status using a single blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) level. Only a limited number of ICU studies have measured the active hormone, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (calcitriol) and none have used change in calcitriol levels to evaluate axis functioning. The objective of this study was to describe the impact of Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) surgery on calcitriol levels and evaluate the relationship between change in postoperative levels and clinical course. Methods Secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study of 56 children undergoing surgery for CHD. Results Mean calcitriol levels dropped from 122.3 ± 69.1 pmol/L preoperatively to 65.3 ± 36.5 pmol/L ( p