Aims: To evaluate the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and early-onset neonatal sepsis in neonates

Study design: A cross-sectional analytical study

Place and duration: This study was conducted at Pir Abdul Qadir Shah Jilani Institute of Medical Science Gambat Khairpur Pakistan from March 2020 to March 2021

Methodology: Samples were taken from the neonatal department that met the inclusion criteria. All neonates with proven or suspected sepsis were included. We used the Chi-square test to identify the relationship between vitamin D levels and neonate sepsis. However, Fisher exact test was applied where Chi-square was not fitted well. Mann Whitney analysis was also performed.

Results: We recruited 41 cases of preterm and full-term neonates with sepsis. Out of these 41 cases, 46.3% (19/41) were male and 53.7% (22/41) were females. An insignificant correlation was observed between mortality, length of hospital stay, and blood culture with Vitamin D levels. However, we observed a positive correlation between Vitamin D levels and the need for respiratory support.

Conclusion: Our study concluded that vitamin D deficiency is associated with the need for respiratory support in neonates with sepsis. However, no correlation with other outcomes was observed in the current study.