Vitamin D Levels and Length of Hospitalization in Indian Patients With COVID-19: A Single-Center Prospective Study

Introduction The role of vitamin D deficiency in increasing susceptibility or modifying outcomes in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) illness is unclear, and data about the association is scant in low- and middle-income countries. We set out to investigate any correlation between baseline vitamin D status and the length of hospital stay in laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 patients in India. Methods Two hundred patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection requiring admission in a North Indian 1200-bedded tertiary care hospital were recruited prospectively from November 2020 to March 2021. Baseline serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels were measured within 24 hours of admission using chemiluminescent immunoassay. Patients were managed as per hospital management protocol for COVID-19. The primary outcome was the length of hospital stay; secondary outcomes were comparative clinical severity between two groups, rate of requirement of mechanical ventilation and/or non-invasive ventilation (NIV), and mortality. Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) was defined as baseline vitamin D levels of <30 ng/ml. Results Of the 200 recruited patients, 57.5% (n = 115) patients were vitamin D deficient, and the overall median length of hospital stay was around 12 days (IQR: 8-15 days). There was no statistically significant difference in the length of hospital stay between patients with normal serum vitamin D (VDS) and those with VDD, median LOS being 12 days (95% CI: 10, 12 days) in VDD cases and 11 days (95% CI: 10,13 days) in VDS cases (p = 0.176). No association between baseline 25(OH)D and any of the secondary outcomes could be established. Conclusions In Indian patients, baseline vitamin D levels are not associated with the length of hospital stay, need for mechanical ventilation, or mortality.