The effect of calcitriol and cholecalciferol on inflammatory markers in periprocedural myocardial injury: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND

Inflammation is an important factor in the development of cardiac injury during and after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Vitamin D receptors play a significant role in the cardiovascular system and have anti-inflammatory effects. Hence, our goal was to evaluate the impact of calcitriol and cholecalciferol as vitamin D receptors agonists on inflammatory biomarkers in patients who are undergoing elective PCI.

METHODS

In this controlled clinical trial, patients undergoing elective PCI were randomly assigned to receive either calcitriol and cholecalciferol or were placed in the control group from July 2021 to November 2022. Calcitriol and cholecalciferol were administered at doses of 1 mcg and 300,000 international units, respectively, before the procedure. High-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) was evaluated as the main inflammatory biomarker and other relevant clinical and laboratory data were also included.

RESULTS

During the study, 180 patients were allocated into three groups, each consisting of 60 patients, with a mean age of 62.26 ± 8.73 years. The prevalence of the underlying conditions was not different among the groups. After 24 hours, hs-CRP levels were lower (P = .012), and a significantly lower increase from baseline was observed (P = .003) in the group that received calcitriol. However, no significant differences were observed in Troponin I and creatine kinase-MB levels (P > .05).

CONCLUSIONS

Administration of calcitriol was associated with significantly lower levels of hs-CRP, the main cardiac inflammatory marker, in patients undergoing elective PCI. Further clinical studies with a larger sample size are needed to assess the clinical impact of this anti-inflammatory effect.