Background and objectives
The optimal treatment regimen for correcting 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) deficiency in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is not known. We compared cholecalciferol dosing regimens for achieving and maintaining 25OHD concentrations ≥30ng/ml in children with CKD stages 2-4.
Design
An open-label multicenter randomized controlled trial randomized children with 25OHD concentrations<30ng/ml in 1:1:1 to oral cholecalciferol 3,000 IU daily, 25,000 IU weekly, or 100,000 IU monthly for 3-months (maximum 3 intensive courses).In those with 25OHD ≥30ng/ml 1,000IU cholecalciferol daily (maintenance course) was given for up to 9 months. Primary outcome was achieving 25OHD≥30 ng/ml at end of intensive phase treatment.
Results
90 children were randomized to daily(n = 30), weekly(n = 29) or monthly(n = 31) treatment groups. At end of intensive phase, 70/90(77.8%) achieved 25OHD ≥30ng/ml; 25OHD concentrations were comparable between groups (median 44.3, 39.4, and 39.3 ng/ml for daily, weekly, and monthly groups respectively; p = 0.24) with no difference between groups for time to achieve 25OHD ≥30ng/ml (p = 0.28). There was no change in calcium, phosphorus, and parathyroid hormone, but fibroblast growth factor 23(p = 0.002) and klotho(p = 0.001) concentrations significantly increased and were comparable in all treatment groups. Irrespective of dosing regimen, children with glomerular disease had 25OHD concentrations lower than non-glomerular disease (25.8 vs 41.8 ng/ml; p = 0.007). One child had 25OHD concentration of 134 ng/ml and 5.5% had hypercalcemia without symptoms of toxicity.
Conclusion
Intensive treatment with oral cholecalciferol as daily, weekly or monthly regimens achieved similar 25OHD concentrations between treatment groups without toxicity. Children with glomerular disease required higher doses of cholecalciferol compared to those with non-glomerular disease.