We thank the authors for the interest in our article
[1]. High prevalence of malnutrition and presence of chronic illness in
our study population could have influenced vitamin D level, and we
therefore agree with their suggestion to include matched control to
assess the baseline prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. We considered
this thought during the process of study design, but from ethical
standpoint, it was difficult to draw blood samples for vitamin D level
alone in apparently healthy children.
We observed a trend towards lower mortality, shorter
duration of PICU stay, and lesser requirement and duration of mechanical
ventilation in vitamin D-deficient children compared to that of
non-vitamin D deficient. However, none of these associations reached
statistical significance. Therefore, we were unable to draw a firm
conclusion on the association. We regret the printing error in the
abstract.
Due to limited studies in children, and differences
in the result on association of vitamin D level with clinical outcomes
from various studies, we agree with the authors’ concluding remark on
being cautious on interpretation of the result of studies. We certainly
need trials to determine if vitamin D supplementation is beneficial in
critically ill children.
Reference