Vitamin D deficiency in patients with chronic venous ulcers.

OBJECTIVE To study if the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in patients with venous leg ulcer is higher than in the control population. METHODS Serum levels of 25 hidroxi (OH)-vitamin D3 was studied by chemiluminescence in 27 patients with chronic venous ulcer and 58 controls at the Evangelical Hospital of Curitiba. RESULTS The levels of 25 OH-vitamin D3 were below 8 ng/dl in 11.1% of ulcer patients and 3.4% of controls; between 8 and 20 ng/dl in 46.1% of ulcer patients and 25.8% of controls; between 21 and 30 ng/dl in 22.2% of ulcer patients and 27.5% of controls and above 30 ng/dl in 43.1% of controls and 18.5% of ulcer patients (p=0.04). CONCLUSION There is an increased prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in patients with chronic venous leg ulcers.