By Ethan Covey
A single, high dose of vitamin D3 administered to patients hospitalized with moderate to severe COVID-19 was found to be ineffective at reducing hospital length of stay. The findings, according to the researchers, do not support the use of single-dose vitamin D3 for adults hospitalized with COVID-19 (JAMA 2021 Feb 17. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.26848).
“The role of vitamin D in prevention and treatment of COVID-19 is of high public health interest and importance,” said Adit Ginde, MD, a professor and the vice chair for research, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, in Aurora. Ginde noted that the biological activity of vitamin D has shown antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects in vitro, so it was reasonable to consider it as a treatment.
The multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted at two sites in Sao Paulo, and included 240 patients hospitalized with moderate to severe cases of COVID-19 from June 2 to Aug. 27, 2020. Study participants were randomly assigned to receive either a one-time dose of 200,000 IU of vitamin D3, or placebo.
Across the board, vitamin D had little impact on the patients’ health and recovery.
Hospital length of stay, the primary study outcome, was not significantly different between the two groups. Similarly, significant improvements were not seen among secondary outcomes such as mortality, ICU admission, need for mechanical ventilation and duration of mechanical ventilation.
While the results were null, Ginde noted that the study was modest in size and relatively limited in scope, focused only on hospitalized patients, used only a single dose of vitamin D, and did not address other formulations or regimens of the vitamin.
“Important questions remain regarding whether vitamin D administration is beneficial earlier in the course of illness—to prevent hospitalization—or for prevention of COVID-19,” he said.
