Vitamin D's potential to reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections

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Abstract

Health care–associated and hospital-acquired infections are two entities associated with increased morbidity and mortality. They are highly costly and constitute a great burden to the health care system. Vitamin D deficiency (< 20 ng/ml) is prevalent and may be a key contributor to both acute and chronic ill health. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with decreased innate immunity and increased risk for infections. Vitamin D can positively influence a wide variety of microbial infections.

Herein we discuss hospital-acquired infections, such as pneumonia, bacteremias, urinary tract and surgical site infections, and the potential role vitamin D may play in ameliorating them. We also discuss how vitamin D might positively influence these infections and help contain health care costs. Pending further studies, we think it is prudent to check vitamin D status at hospital admission and to take immediate steps to address existing insufficient 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels.

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Invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in the United States.

R. Monina Klevens, Melissa Morrison, Joelle Nadle … (2007)

As the epidemiology of infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) changes, accurate information on the scope and magnitude of MRSA infections in the US population is needed. To describe the incidence and distribution of invasive MRSA disease in 9 US communities and to estimate the burden of invasive MRSA infections in the United States in 2005. Active, population-based surveillance for invasive MRSA in 9 sites participating in the Active Bacterial Core surveillance (ABCs)/Emerging Infections Program Network from July 2004 through December 2005. Reports of MRSA were investigated and classified as either health care-associated (either hospital-onset or community-onset) or community-associated (patients without established health care risk factors for MRSA). Incidence rates and estimated number of invasive MRSA infections and in-hospital deaths among patients with MRSA in the United States in 2005; interval estimates of incidence excluding 1 site that appeared to be an outlier with the highest incidence; molecular characterization of infecting strains. There were 8987 observed cases of invasive MRSA reported during the surveillance period. Most MRSA infections were health care-associated: 5250 (58.4%) were community-onset infections, 2389 (26.6%) were hospital-onset infections; 1234 (13.7%) were community-associated infections, and 114 (1.3%) could not be classified. In 2005, the standardized incidence rate of invasive MRSA was 31.8 per 100,000 (interval estimate, 24.4-35.2). Incidence rates were highest among persons 65 years and older (127.7 per 100,000; interval estimate, 92.6-156.9), blacks (66.5 per 100,000; interval estimate, 43.5-63.1), and males (37.5 per 100,000; interval estimate, 26.8-39.5). There were 1598 in-hospital deaths among patients with MRSA infection during the surveillance period. In 2005, the standardized mortality rate was 6.3 per 100,000 (interval estimate, 3.3-7.5). Molecular testing identified strains historically associated with community-associated disease outbreaks recovered from cultures in both hospital-onset and community-onset health care-associated infections in all surveillance areas. Invasive MRSA infection affects certain populations disproportionately. It is a major public health problem primarily related to health care but no longer confined to intensive care units, acute care hospitals, or any health care institution.

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Estimating health care-associated infections and deaths in U.S. hospitals, 2002.

R. Monina Klevens, Jonathan Edwards, Chesley Richards … (2007)

The purpose of this study was to provide a national estimate of the number of healthcare-associated infections (HAI) and deaths in United States hospitals. No single source of nationally representative data on HAIs is currently available. The authors used a multi-step approach and three data sources. The main source of data was the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) system, data from 1990-2002, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey (for 2002) and the American Hospital Association Survey (for 2000) were used to supplement NNIS data. The percentage of patients with an HAI whose death was determined to be caused or associated with the HAI from NNIS data was used to estimate the number of deaths. In 2002, the estimated number of HAIs in U.S. hospitals, adjusted to include federal facilities, was approximately 1.7 million: 33,269 HAIs among newborns in high-risk nurseries, 19,059 among newborns in well-baby nurseries, 417,946 among adults and children in ICUs, and 1,266,851 among adults and children outside of ICUs. The estimated deaths associated with HAIs in U.S. hospitals were 98,987: of these, 35,967 were for pneumonia, 30,665 for bloodstream infections, 13,088 for urinary tract infections, 8,205 for surgical site infections, and 11,062 for infections of other sites. HAIs in hospitals are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. The method described for estimating the number of HAIs makes the best use of existing data at the national level.

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Vitamin D supplementation and total mortality: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Philippe Autier (2007)

Ecological and observational studies suggest that low vitamin D status could be associated with higher mortality from life-threatening conditions including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes mellitus that account for 60% to 70% of total mortality in high-income countries. We examined the risk of dying from any cause in subjects who participated in randomized trials testing the impact of vitamin D supplementation (ergocalciferol [vitamin D(2)] or cholecalciferol [vitamin D(3)]) on any health condition. The literature up to November 2006 was searched without language restriction using the following databases: PubMed, ISI Web of Science (Science Citation Index Expanded), EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library. We identified 18 independent randomized controlled trials, including 57 311 participants. A total of 4777 deaths from any cause occurred during a trial size-adjusted mean of 5.7 years. Daily doses of vitamin D supplements varied from 300 to 2000 IU. The trial size-adjusted mean daily vitamin D dose was 528 IU. In 9 trials, there was a 1.4- to 5.2-fold difference in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D between the intervention and control groups. The summary relative risk for mortality from any cause was 0.93 (95% confidence interval, 0.87-0.99). There was neither indication for heterogeneity nor indication for publication biases. The summary relative risk did not change according to the addition of calcium supplements in the intervention. Intake of ordinary doses of vitamin D supplements seems to be associated with decreases in total mortality rates. The relationship between baseline vitamin D status, dose of vitamin D supplements, and total mortality rates remains to be investigated. Population-based, placebo-controlled randomized trials with total mortality as the main end point should be organized for confirming these findings.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Dermatoendocrinol

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Dermatoendocrinol

Journal ID (publisher-id): DERM

Title: Dermato-endocrinology

Publisher: Landes Bioscience

ISSN (Print): 1938-1972

ISSN (Electronic): 1938-1980

Publication date (Print): 01 April 2012

Publication date PMC-release: 01 April 2012

Volume: 4

Issue: 2

Pages: 167-175

Affiliations

[1 ]Department of Internal Medicine; Division of Infectious Diseases; East Tennessee State University; Johnson City, TN USA

[2 ]Research Associate; Jacksonville, FL

[3 ]Sunlight, Nutrition; and Health Research Center; San Francisco, CA USA

[4 ]Department of Medicine; East Tennessee State University; Johnson City, TN USA

Author notes

[* ]Correspondence to: Dima A. Youssef, Email: estecina@ 123456hotmail.com

Article

Publisher ID: 2011DE0162R Publisher Item ID: 20789

DOI: 10.4161/derm.20789

PMC ID: 3427196

PubMed ID: 22928073

SO-VID: aa3851c7-dbd2-4c52-bfd5-3a6181092636

License:

This is an open-access article licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. The article may be redistributed, reproduced, and reused for non-commercial purposes, provided the original source is properly cited.

Vitamin D's potential to reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections

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Karger: Dermatology

Most cited references 92

Invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in the United States.

Estimating health care-associated infections and deaths in U.S. hospitals, 2002.

Vitamin D supplementation and total mortality: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

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