The value of vitamin D in the prevention and treatment of exacerbations of bronchial asthma in children

Abstract

Background. Today, an important task for children’s allergology is to improve the treatment of children with bronchial asthma in order to prevent the severe course of the disease, disability and mortality of patients. The purpose was to study the effect of vitamin D supplementation in the prevention and treatment of exacerbations of bronchial asthma in children. Materials and methods. The research group is 164 children with bronchial asthma. The level of 25(OH)D was evaluated by the electrochemiluminescence method on the Elecsys 2010 analyzer (Roche Diagnostics, Germany) according to the Cobas system test. The level of interleukin (IL) 4, IL-10 was assessed using sets of reagents for enzyme immunoassay. For the clinical assessment of patients, the level of bronchial asthma control was determined, and clinical analysis of disease exacerbations was conducted. Results. As a result of the comparison of the initial level of 25(OH)D in the blood serum of patients, after the use of 2,000 IU of vitamin D3 for 6 months, after the summer and after taking cholecalciferol in increased doses (4,000 IU) for 2 months, a significant difference was found between the indicators according to the Friedman test (λ2 = 41.211; p < 0.05). A positive clinical dynamics of bronchial asthma was observed in children in whom exacerbations were detected against the background of an infectious process, compared with children who had exacerbations against the background of other factors. Also, in this category of patients, after long-term intake of vitamin D with different dose regimens, a significant difference was found (p < 0.05) when comparing IL-10 and IL-4 indicators. Conclusions. Children with bronchial asthma exa­cerbation against the background of infectious processes can be recommended a year-round use of cholecalciferol, except for summer, with different dose regimens, including high daily doses (4,000 IU).