The Role of Vitamin D3 Therapy in Pediatric Bronchiectasis Severity (CF versus Non-CF Patients)

Objective: To determine and compare the effect of vitamin D3 supplementation on\r\nmodifying the disease severity in cystic fibrosis (CF) and non-CF bronchiectasis\r\npediatric patients. Methods: A randomized clinical trial evaluating the role of oral vitamin D3\r\nsupplementation for six months, was performed in forty patients with CF and non-CF bronchiectasis under\r\nthe age of 18 years with vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency. The primary\r\noutcome was to reach the sufficient Vitamin D level, the secondary outcome was\r\nto reevaluate bronchiectasis severity by following up the frequency, severity\r\nof pulmonary exacerbations and lung function after vitamin D3 supplementation. Results: Forty patients completed the trial. The percentage of improvement of\r\nvitamin D level after vitamin D3 supplementation for six months was\r\nsignificantly higher in CF (88.3%) than non-CF bronchiectasis patients (59.82%) (P = 0.03). Additionally, moderate to\r\nsevere pulmonary exacerbations significantly decreased by more than 60%, 45% (P = 0.001, 0.005) and frequent exacerbations decreased by 15%,\r\n10% (P = 0.327, 0.490), while the\r\nforced expiratory volume in 1 (FEV1) significantly increased by 17% and 15% in\r\nnon CF bronchiectasis and CF patients respectively (p 0.001). Conclusions: Vitamin D3 therapy was effective in decreasing the frequency\r\nand severity of pulmonary exacerbations and preserving lung function. Thereby,\r\nimproving the disease severity even more in non-CF bronchiectasis than CF patients.