RT Journal
A1 Pietras SM, Obayan BK, Cai MH, Holick MF
T1 VItamin d2 treatment for vitamin d deficiency and insufficiency for up to 6 years
JF Archives of Internal Medicine
JO Archives of Internal Medicine
YR 2009
FD October 26
VO 169
IS 19
SP 1806
OP 1818
DO 10.1001/archinternmed.2009.361
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archinternmed.2009.361
AB 

			The worldwide prevalence of vitamin D deficiency is striking, and more than 40% of the population may be vitamin D deficient.1 Despite this, to our knowledge there are no long-term studies of the safety and efficacy of giving pharmacologic doses of vitamin D (50 000 IU of ergocalciferol [vitamin D2]) to treat and prevent vitamin D deficiency. Furthermore, there is a concern that ergocalciferol, the only pharmaceutical vitamin D available in the United States, may be less effective than cholecalciferol (vitamin D3).2 In our clinic, which specializes in metabolic bone disease, we routinely treat vitamin D deficiency (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels <20 ng/mL [to convert to nanomoles per liter, multiply by 2.496]) with 50 000 IU of ergocalciferol once a week for 8 weeks.1,3 The efficacy of this regimen has been previously described.1 To prevent recurrent vitamin D deficiency and also to maintain adequate levels in patients who are vitamin D sufficient, we treat with 50 000 IU of ergocalciferol every other week indefinitely, a regimen that, to our knowledge, has not been published to date.