Introduction: Vitamin D (VD) and its prohormones have been the focus of a growing number of studies in the past few years, demonstrating their function not only in calcium metabolism and one formation but also their interaction with the immune system, which is not surprising since VD receptors are expressed in different tissues, such as brain, heart, skin, bowel, gonads, prostate, breast and immune cells, bones, kidneys, and parathyroid.
Aim: To assess VD status in acute and chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) pediatric patients compared to normal-control children and to find any association between VD deficiency and ITP.
Patients and Methods: This study included 48 children diagnosed with ITP admitted to the Hematology Unit at Assiut University Children's Hospital and 30 normal matchable controls. Our patients were subjected to full history taking and thorough clinical examination. ITP patients were classified as acute and chronic. Both patients and controls were subjected to complete blood count (CBC) and serum total 25‑OH vitamin D.
Results: VD levels were lower in patients with acute and chronic ITP than in normal healthy controls but not statistically significant (P = 0.6). VD deficiency was significantly more in patients with chronic ITP in comparison with normal healthy controls (P = 0.044).
Conclusion: We concluded that vitamin D deficiency may have a role in the pathogenesis of immune thrombocytopenia, especially chronic ITP. Further studies are needed to investigate whether vitamin D supplementation is helpful in the treatment of ITP by modulating the immune system.