title: Vitamin D deficiency in patients with chronic venous ulcers.
abstract: 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).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is an increased prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in patients with chronic venous leg ulcers.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade Evangélica do Paraná, Hospital Universitário Evangélico de Curitiba, PR, Brasil. claudinejuliana@gmail.com
authors.forename: Claudine Juliana C
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Burkievcz
authors.forename: Thelma Larocca
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Skare
authors.forename: Osvaldo
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Malafaia
authors.forename: Paulo Afonso Nunes
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Nassif
authors.forename: Claudia Stein Gomes
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Ribas
authors.forename: Lorena Reis Pereira
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Santos
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014647:Varicose Ulcer / Q000150:complications*; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology*