Vitamin D Supplements May Reduce Pain-related Emergency Room Visits in Children With SCD

Taking vitamin D supplements may lower the number of visits to the emergency department due to vaso-occlusive pain episodes in African American children with sickle cell disease (SCD), a study found. The findings also showed that 45% of these children with SCD have vitamin D deficiency.

The study, “Vitamin D supplementation and pain-related emergency department visits in children with sickle cell disease,” was published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Medicine.

Vaso-occlusive pain episodes are the most common reason for SCD patients to visit the emergency department. Such episodes can be caused by specific factors — such as dehydration, infection or cold weather — but also may occur without warning.