Therapeutic and collateral effects of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol in vitamin D deficiency.

The clinical and biochemical response to 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-HCC) and vitamin D3, 150 microgram/day for 20 days has been compared in infants aged 3--18 months with nutritional rickets. The infants were allocated at random to Group I (11 infants) treated with 25HCC and Group II (9 infants) treated with vitamin D3. In addition 15 matched control children without rickets were allocated to Group III and received 25-HCC 75 microgram/day for 20 days. Preliminary studies showed that plasma calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase and urine pH all differed significantly between the rachitic and control groups. The biochemical parameters in both groups of rachitic children became normal after treatment with the exception of plasma alkaline phosphatase which remained elevated. The control group showed a significant increase in plasma and urine calcium values in spite of the low dose of 25-HCC. The findings suggest that 25-HCC is as effective as vitamin D3 in the treatment of rickets but did not demonstrate any therapeutic advantage.