The effect of vitamin D levels on clinical outcomes after pediatric open-heart surgery

Congenital heart disease is a massive structural abnormality in the heart or large vessels inside the chest that is potentially important. Vitamin D is essential for the recovery of organs. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of serum vitamin D levels on clinical outcomes after pediatric open-heart surgery. Recent studies in infants have shown that vitamin D deficiency and hypocalcemia are associated with heart shock.  The following descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the Cardiology Unit of Shahid Faghihi Hospital in Shiraz from April 2021 to October 2022, involving 115 patients aged one to seven years old. Serum levels of vitamin D were measured to evaluate the correlation between vitamin D levels and postoperative clinical outcomes. Data was gathered using SPSS.v16 software and analyzed through statistical tests.  The mean age of the patients in this study was 29.20± 53.10 months. The average vitamin D level of the patients was 24.52± 10.3 ng/ml. The study's findings indicated that infants eligible for heart surgery with normal vitamin D levels had significantly shorter durations of Inotropes, ventilators, chest tubes, and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stay (P<0.001).  Decreased vitamin D levels in children with abnormal vitamin D can delay the improvement of heart and myocardial function and increase the use of inotropes, ventilators, and chest tubes. It also increases the number of days hospitalized in the ICU after Cardio Pulmonary Bypass (CPB) surgery.