The purpose of this study was to document vitamin D status in home parenteral nutrition (HPN) patients and determine if oral vitamin D supplementation has a substantial effect.
Methods: A retrospective chart review of eligible adults enrolled in the Southern Alberta Home Parenteral Nutrition program (n = 15) for a minimum of 6 months was conducted. Serum measurements of 25OHD were recorded and patients were categorized by vitamin D status as follows: sufficient; insufficient; deficient with respective levels of 25OHD ≥75 nmol/L, 27.5-75 nmol/L, and ≤27.5 nmol/L; and mixed.
Results: Five of 15 patients had insufficient vitamin D status throughout the study period; all had short bowel syndrome. Nine were in the mixed category; 1 was consistently sufficient, and no one was consistently deficient. Patient demographics were similar between the insufficient and mixed groups. There were no significant differences in health outcomes between the insufficient and mixed vitamin D status groups. The median (interquartile range) dose and duration of vitamin D3 supplementation for the insufficient group was 5000 IU/d (4,000-7,143) for 1,175 (1,145-1,578) total days compared to 3,000 IU/d (1,000-7,143) for 1,529 (111-1,980) days for the mixed group.
Conclusions: Most patients receiving HPN had insufficient vitamin D status. When prescribed high doses of oral vitamin D, patients did not consistently achieve appropriate 25OHD levels. Alternate routes of vitamin D supplementation in patients receiving HPN should be considered. Large multicenter prospective studies are needed to best characterize the relationship between vitamin D dosing for HPN patients and vitamin D status.