Abstract
Objective To determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and to evaluate the safety and
effectiveness of a new method of cholecalciferol loading in adult patients with a
tibial fracture.
Materials and Methods We recruited 56 consecutive patients with ages ranging from 18 to 65 years with tibial
fracture who were admitted to our hospital for 1 year. We determined the level of
25-hydroxyvitamin D ([25 (OH)-D]) at admission and after supplementation with a weekly
dose of 100,000 IU of cholecalciferol for 3 or 5 weeks in cases of insufficiency ([25
(OH)-D] between 20 ng/mL and29.9 ng/mL) or deficiency ([25 (OH)D] < 20ng/mL) respectively.
The prevalence of hypovitaminosis D, the percentage of vitamin D normalization, and
the adverse effects were reported.
Results We evaluated 56 patients with tibia fractures; 98.1% presented hypovitaminosis D,
and 28 (73,7%) and 10 (26,3%) showed deficit and insufficiency respectively. A total
of 92.1% of the patients reached normal vitamin D levels after supplementation. No
patient presented adverse effects.
Discussion The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in our population was higher than the rates
previously reported in the literature. The new vitamin D supplementation scheme proposed
is safe and more effective than the one previously recommended. This supplementation
scheme can be implemented in future randomized studies.
Conclusion The prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in Chilean adult patients with a tibial fracture
was high (98.1%). The proposed vitamin D supplementation scheme was safe and effective.
Level of Evidence Therapeutic study. Level 2.
Keywords
bone union - vitamin D deficiency - tibial fracture - vitamin D supplementation
