title: Vitamin D Status in South Korean Military Personnel with Acute Eosinophilic Pneumonia: A Pilot Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A relationship between low vitamin D levels and the development or outcomes of respiratory diseases has been identified. However, there is no data on the vitamin D status in patients with acute eosinophilic pneumonia (AEP). We evaluated the vitamin D status in patients with AEP among South Korean military personnel.
  
  
  METHODS
  We prospectively compared the serum levels of total 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], 25(OH)D3, and 25(OH)D2 among patients with AEP, pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB), and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 65 patients with respiratory diseases, including AEP (n=24), PTB (n=19), and CAP (n=22), were identified. Of the 24 patients with AEP, 2 (8%) had deficient total 25(OH)D levels (<10 ng/mL), 17 (71%) had insufficient total 25(OH)D levels (≥10 to <30 ng/mL), and only 5 (21%) had sufficient total 25(OH)D levels (≥30 to <100 ng/mL). The difference in the total 25(OH)D levels among patients with AEP, PTB, and CAP was not statistically significant (p=0.230). The median levels of total 25(OH)D, 25(OH)D3, and 25(OH)D2 were 22.84, 22.84, and 0.00 ng/mL, respectively, and no differences in the 25(OH)D level were present among patients with AEP, PTB, and CAP with the exception of the total 25(OH)D level between patients with AEP and PTB (p=0.042).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We have shown that low vitamin D levels are frequently found in patients with AEP and are comparable with those in patients with PTB and CAP.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, The Armed Forces Capital Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
authors.forename: Byung Woo
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Jhun
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, The Armed Forces Capital Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
authors.forename: Se Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, The Armed Forces Capital Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
authors.forename: Kang
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, The Armed Forces Capital Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
authors.forename: Ji Eun
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Armed Forces Capital Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
authors.forename: Duck Jin
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Hong
keywords: Deficiency; Pneumonia; Pulmonary Eosinophilia; Vitamin D