Attitudes of pediatricians regarding prevention and treatment of vitamin D deficiency

To determine the adherence of pediatricians to the nationwide ‘vitamin d prophylaxis program’ and to evaluate their attitudes about vitamin d intake. the study was conducted using the turkish national pediatrics association network. the pediatricians were asked to respond to an online questionnaire that included five questions on ‘what dose of vitamin d they recommend for supplementation?’,‘at what age they start vitamin d supplementation?’,‘supplementation method’,‘clichés and truths about vitamin d’,and ‘high-dose vitamin d therapy indications’. responses of 167 pediatricians were evaluated in this study. 75.5% of pediatricians indicated that they recommended vitamin d supplementation in a daily dose of 400 iu. 47.1% started vitamin d supplementation by the end of the 2nd week. 7.83% of pediatricians suggested doubling the daily dose of vitamin d supplementation in infants with delayed tooth eruption,19.9% suggested immediate cessation of vitamin d supplementation in infants with small anterior fontanels. this study showed that the majority of the pediatricians still prescribe vitamin d prophylaxis late,recommend high doses of vitamin d in cases of delayed tooth eruption,and think that low serum 25-hydroxy vitamin d level regardless of alkaline or phosphatase parathyroid hormone measurement is an indication for high-dose vitamin d (stoss) therapy. these results suggest a need for new training programs focusing on vitamin d supplementation. © journal of clinical research in pediatric endocrinology.