Hibbs AM, et al. - A randomized clinical trial was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of 2 vitamin D dosing strategies for preventing recurrent wheezing in black infants who were born preterm. Researchers reported that sustained supplementation with vitamin D, compared with diet-limited supplementation, resulted in a decreased risk of recurrent wheezing by 12 months’ adjusted age among black infants born preterm.

Methods

• This trial selected three hundred black infants born at 28 to 36 weeks’ gestation between January 2013 and January 2016 at 4 sites in the United States, and followed them up through March 2017.
• By site and maternal milk exposure, randomization was stratified.
• For this investigation, patients were selected before release from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or newborn nursery and received open-label multivitamin until they were consuming 200 IU/d of cholecalciferol from formula or fortifier added to human milk, after which they received either 400 IU/d of cholecalciferol until 6 months of age adjusted for prematurity (sustained supplementation) or placebo (diet-limited supplementation).
• One-hundred fifty three infants were randomized to the sustained group.
• One hundred forty-seven infants were randomized to the diet-limited group.
• The primary outcome was recurrent wheezing by 12 months’ adjusted age.

Results

• As per data, among 300 patients who were randomized (mean gestational age, 33 weeks; median birth weight, 1.9 kg), 277 (92.3%) completed the trial.
• It was observed in the findings that recurrent wheezing was experienced by 31.1% of infants in the sustained supplementation group and 41.8% of infants in the diet-limited supplementation group (difference, -10.7% [95% CI, -27.4% to -2.9%]; relative risk, 0.66 [95% CI, 0.47 to 0.94]).
• The most commonly reported adverse events were upper and lower respiratory tract infections.
• It was noted that upper respiratory infections were experienced by 84 of 153 infants (54.9%) in the sustained group and 83 of 147 infants (56.5%) in the diet-limited group (difference, -1.6% [95% CI, -17.1% to 7.0%]).
• Data displayed that lower respiratory infections were experienced by 33 of 153 infants (21.6%) in the sustained group and 37 of 147 infants (25.2%) in the diet-limited group (difference, -3.6% [95% CI, -16.4% to 4.4%]).