Noncardiac surgery mortality risk increased by insufficient vitamin D Noncardiac surgery mortality risk increased by insufficient vitamin DAugust 18 2014. The journal Anesthesia & Analgesia published an article online on August 13, 2014 that reports an association between reduced vitamin D levels and a greater risk of serious complications, including cardiovascular events, infections and death, following noncardiac surgery. Earlier investigation involving cardiac surgery patients failed to find a protective effect for vitamin D against in-hospital complications—a finding which could be the result of the excessive level of injury and inflammation resulting from this type of surgery. For the current study, Dr Alparslan Turan and colleagues at the Cleveland Clinic analyzed data from 3,509 noncardiac surgery patients whose serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were measured within three months prior to or one month following surgery. Insufficient levels of 10 to 30 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) were uncovered in over 60% of the subjects and deficient levels of lower than 10 ng/mL approached the level of 20% of those studied. Those whose vitamin D levels were among the top one-fifth of participants at greater than 36 ng/mL had a risk of in hospital morbidity or mortality that was less than half that of subjects whose levels were among the lowest fifth at less than 13 ng/mL. The researchers observed a 7% reduction in severe in-hospital outcomes in association with each 5 ng/mL increase in serum vitamin D. “While causality cannot be determined from our retrospective analysis, the association suggests that a large randomized trial of preoperative vitamin D supplementation and postoperative outcomes is warranted,” Dr Turan and coauthors conclude.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 17:17:37 +0000
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