Assessment of the effect of vitamin D levels in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis on the clinical course of the disease

<bold>Purpose:</bold> Determination of vitamin D levels in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. <bold>Material and methods:</bold> This study was carried out including 45 patients with newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis (NDTB) with sensitivity to drugs and 30 healthy individuals (HI). Patients’ age ranged from 23 to 65 years. The majority of the examined patients were males – 68.2% (females – 31.8%). Serum vitamin D levels were investigated using the VD (Vitamin D) ELISA Kit (Optics Valley Biomedical Industrial Park, Wuhan, China (430075)), for the quantitative detection of vitamin D in serum, number: EU2541, range: 1.563-100 ng/ml. <bold>Results and discussion:</bold> The average serum concentration was found to be 18.46±4.23 ng/ml of 25(OH) D in NDTB. In the control group it was 28.834±5.79 ng/ml and was statistically significant (p = 0.001). Vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/ml) was found to occur in 61.5% of patients in the main group versus 38.5% of patients in the control group (P<0.001, OR 3.680, 95% CI 1.761–6.923). The results of the study showed that vitamin D failure (<30 ng/ml) was observed in 74.6% of patients with NDTB and 43.4% of the control group. Multivariate studies with binarylogistic regression showed a strong direct relationship between the presence of a specific TB process and vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/ml) (OR 2.817, 95%, CI 1.287-4.894, P<0.005). <bold>Conclusion:</bold> In patients with sensitive pulmonary tuberculosis, the serum level of 25(OH)D is significantly lower than in the control group. Vitamin D deficiency was reported in 61.5% of cases.