title: Vitamin D and the critically ill patient.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To summarize the current knowledge on vitamin D with a special focus on critically ill patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Vitamin D deficiency is associated with adverse health outcomes including increased risk of cardiovascular disease, morbidity and mortality in the general population. In critically ill patients, the pleiotropic effects of vitamin D including its role in immune function are of great interest.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To date, it is not clear whether vitamin D deficiency is a surrogate marker for increased morbidity or whether treatment with sufficiently large doses of vitamin D may improve patient outcome in an intensive care setting.
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Austria. karin.amrein@medunigraz.at
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Amrein
authors.forename: Bala
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Venkatesh
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods; D016638:Critical Illness / Q000628:therapy*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D006801:Humans; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014815:Vitamins / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D014815:Vitamins; D014807:Vitamin D