The prognostic value of vitamin D level for in-hospital mortality in patients with acute pulmonary embolism

OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of the serum vitamin D (Vit-D) level on admission in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE) to determine in-hospital mortality.

METHODS
Ninety-nine patients who were diagnosed with APE between January 2015 and January 2018 and had a record of an admission serum Vit-D level were enrolled in the study. The serum Vit-D level was measured using an immune-based assay in all cases. The primary outcome of the study was in-hospital all-cause mortality.

RESULTS
The study population was divided into 2 groups according to the median value of serum Vit-D level: Vit-D level ≤7.36 ng/mL in 49 patients and Vit-D level >7.36 ng/mL in 50 patients. The patients with a serum Vit-D level ≤7.36 ng/mL had a higher of incidence of in-hospital death compared with those whose serum Vit-D level was >7.36 ng/mL (6 [12.2%] vs. 1 [2%]; p=0.048). In Cox regression analysis, the serum Vit-D level (Hazard ratio: 0.82, 95% confidence interval: 0.68-0.98; p=0.043) was found to be independently associated with in-hospital mortality. The optimal value of serum Vit-D level for the prediction of in-hospital mortality was ≤6.47 ng/mL, with a sensitivity of 71.4% and a specificity 86.9% (area under the curve: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.72–0.88; p=0.004).

CONCLUSION
The findings demonstrated that the serum Vit-D level on admission may be an independent predictor for in-hospital mortality in patients with APE.