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Sufficient vitamin D is favorable for children with persistent and chronic immune thrombocytopenia

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Abstract

Primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by isolated thrombocytopenia in the absence of other disorders. Vitamin D (VD) has been shown to modulate the immune system and its deficiency is linked to many immunological disorders. Supplementation with VD in ITP has promising results. This work aims at evaluating VD values in children with persistent and chronic ITP and the effect of its deficiency on disease severity and treatment response. A case–control study including 50 persistent and chronic ITP patients and 50 healthy controls was conducted. 25 OH vitamin D level was determined using ELISA technique. VD median value was significantly higher among the control group than that of the patients’ group (28 vs 21.5 and p = 0.002). Severe deficiency was detected significantly more among the patients’ group than the control group (12 (24%) vs 3 (6%), p = 0.048) respectively. Forty-four percent of complete responders belong to sufficient VD category ((15/34) ~ 44% (p = 0.005)) representing all patients with sufficient VD status (n = 15). Also, a positive correlation between serum level of vitamin D and mean PLT count was observed (r = 0.316, p value = 0.025). Sufficient vitamin D was associated with better treatment response and less disease severity. Vitamin D supplementation may be a new therapeutic option for chronic ITP.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pediatric Department, Al-Thawra Teaching Hospital, Omar Al-Mukhtar University, Al Bayda, Libya

    Rafae El Mabrouk

  2. Medical Analysis & Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University Children Hospital, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt

    Dalia Tawfeek Hussein

  3. Pediatric Department, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University Children Hospital, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt

    Mohammed Ezz El Regal Abbas

  4. Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University Children Hospital, Mansoura University, Mansoura, 35516, Egypt

    Suzy Abd El Mabood

Authors
  1. Rafae El Mabrouk
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  2. Dalia Tawfeek Hussein
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  3. Mohammed Ezz El Regal Abbas
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  4. Suzy Abd El Mabood
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Suzy Abd El Mabood.

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All procedures performed in the study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the national institutional review board and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments. The study was approved by local the institutional review board (code number: MS. 18. 11. 361).

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Mabrouk, R.E., Hussein, D.T., Abbas, M.E.E.R. et al. Sufficient vitamin D is favorable for children with persistent and chronic immune thrombocytopenia. Ann Hematol 102, 2033–2038 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-023-05210-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-023-05210-9

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