Role of vitamin D supplementation in children with pneumonia: Systematic and meta-analysis

Pneumonia severity may be correlated with a vitamin D deficiency. In order to combat bacterial and viral respiratory tract infections, vitamin D possesses immunomodulatory and anti-infective qualities. Vitamin D receptors can promote the production of antibacterial peptides. It is unknown, nevertheless, if improving outcomes by combining oral vitamin D therapy with the conventional treatment for pneumonia will be beneficial. Consequently, in order to fully understand how vitamin D supplementation affects the course and recurrence of pneumonia in children, a systematic review and meta-analysis are required. In this review, the differences between children getting vitamin D3 supplementation and placebo in terms of hospital stay duration, mortality rate, and pneumonia recurrence were examined. It was determined from the pooled analysis that vitamin D supplementation had no significant impact on lowering hospitalization duration (pooled MD:-0.49 [95% CI:-1.46, 0.48], p = 0.32), hospitalization mortality rates (pooled logRR:-0.40; RR: 0.68 [95% CI:-0.85, 0.05], p = 0.08), or pneumonia recurrence rates (pooled logRR:-0.21; RR: 0.92 [95% CI:-0.54, 0.12], p = 0.21). Vitamin D supplementation had no effect on lowering the mortality rate, length of hospital stay, or recurrence rate in children with pneumonia. To ensure that supplementation has a substantial effect, more study that examines the variables influencing adequacy and maximizes the role of vitamin D in children should be conducted.