Children with cystic fibrosis not well covered by guidelines for vitamin D needs

Hopkins Children's experts call for higher doses to address deficiencies Existing recommendations for treating vitamin D deficiency in children with cystic fibrosis (CF) are too low to cover the serious need, leaving most at high risk for bone loss and rickets, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins Children's Center. In results of their investigation, published in the October issue of The Journal of Pediatrics, the Johns Hopkins team found that nearly half of the 262 children with CF in the study were vitamin D deficient, and the majority of these remained persistently so, despite getting restorative doses equal to or higher than the recommendations set by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. As a result of the findings, Hopkins already has amended its treatment protocol and now treats both adult and pediatric CF patients who... [read full story]