Efficacy of Vitamin D as Adjuvant Therapy for Treatment of Hospitalized Children with COVID-19: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

Background: Vitamin D is a multifunctional hormone essential in the immune system. Vitamin D deficiency may increase the disease burden in patients with COVID-19. Objectives: We investigated the effect of vitamin D administration as an adjunctive therapy on treating children with COVID-19. Methods: Children with confirmed or probable COVID-19 who were admitted to 17th Shahrivar Hospital in Rasht from October 2022 to April 2023 were selected by random sampling method. They were divided into two groups by random blocks: the intervention group with vitamin D administration and the placebo-controlled group. The patient data were recorded and analyzed, including age, sex, and the required clinical and laboratory information, including the time required to recover from fever and respiratory distress and the length of hospitalization. Results: In this study, 60 patients (30 in each group) were evaluated. At the beginning of hospitalization, fever was significantly more observed in the intervention group (90% vs. 53.3%, P = 0.002). The average time required to recover from fever and respiratory distress was less in the intervention group, although this difference was not significant between the two groups (P = 0.591 and P = 0.192, respectively). The hospitalization duration was also similar in both groups, and no complications or death were observed in the two groups. Conclusions: Administering vitamin D at a dose of 1000 IU daily showed no significant efficacy for recovering children with COVID-19. Further studies are suggested to investigate the high dose of vitamin D supplementation in treating children with COVID-19.