A clinical trial was conducted in 240 patients who received 200,000 IU of vitamin D3 on admission. The supplement did not shorten the length of stay or affect the proportion of people who needed intensive care.
Can high doses of vitamin D on admission improve the condition of moderate or severe patients? COVID-19 (New Coronavirus Infection)?? The answer is no, according to a Brazilian study published in. Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA)..
This article reports a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. This type of study was considered the gold standard for assessing efficacy. This was carried out with the support of FAPESP by researchers at the University of São Paulo School of Medicine (FM-USP) and was treated at Hospitaldas Clínicas (HC), a hospital complex operated by FM-USP, and 240 people at the Ibirapuera Field Hospital. We recruited patients. The city of São Paulo from June to August 2020.
“In vitro studies or studies in animals have previously shown that in certain situations vitamin D and its metabolites have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects and may regulate the immune response. We decided to investigate whether high doses of this substance have a protective effect in the context of acute viral infections and can reduce either inflammation or the amount of virus, “said Rosa Pereira, lead researcher at the project. Told Agência FAPESP.
Volunteers were randomly divided into two groups, one of which received vitamin D3 in a single dose of 200,000 units (IU) dissolved in a peanut oil solution. The other groups were given only peanut oil solution. All participants were treated according to standard protocols for hospital treatment of illness, including administration of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs.
The main purpose was to see if acute supplements affected the length of stay in these patients, but researchers reduced the risk of hospitalization, intubation, and death in the intensive care unit (ICU). I also wanted to find out if I would.
No significant differences were observed between the groups for any of these clinical outcomes. According to Pereira, this study was specifically designed to assess the impact on hospitalization and requires more volunteers to achieve scientifically acceptable estimates of its impact on mortality. Will be.
“So far, there are no signs of giving vitamin D to patients who come to the hospital with severe COVID-19,” she said.
For Bruno Gualano, FM-USP researcher and penultimate author of the article, the findings show that there is no “silver bullet” for the treatment of COVID-19, at least so far. .. “But that doesn’t mean that continued use of vitamin D can’t have any beneficial effect,” he said.
Ideal dose
Pereira is currently leading the study at FM-USP, with subjects receiving adequate circulating levels of vitamin D. SARS-CoV-2 Better than those with inadequate levels of nutrients.
The ideal level of vitamin D in the blood and the daily supplement dose depend on age and overall health, she explained. Elderly people and patients with chronic illnesses such as osteoporosis should exceed 30 nanograms (ng / mL) per milliliter of blood. For healthy adults, 20 ng / mL is an acceptable threshold.
“The ideal approach is a case-by-case analysis, where blood tests regularly administer the substance as needed to supplement any deficiencies detected,” Pereira said.
Reference: “Effects of a single high dose of vitamin D3 on the length of hospital stay in patients in moderate to severe COVID-19A randomized clinical trials” Igor H. Murai, PhD; Dr. Alan L. Fernandez; Lucas P. Sales, MSc; Ana J. Pinto, Ph.D., Karla F. Goessler, PhD; Camilla SC Duran, MD; Carla BR Silva, MD; Andre S. Franco, MD; Marina B. Macedo, MD, MSc; HH Dalmolin, MD; Janaina Baggio, MD; Guilherme GM Balbi, MD; Bruna Z. Reis, PhD; Leila Antonangelo, MD, PhD; Valeria F. Capalvo; Dr. Bruno Guarano and Dr. Rosa MR Pereira, February 17, 2021 JAMA..