effect of 1, 25 (oh)2 vitamin d3 on serum levels of inflammatory cytokines in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting

Background: a number of preventive or therapeutic strategies have been proposed to compensate for the inflammatory process during adult cardiac surgeries; none has been considered definitive. 1,25 (oh)2 vitamin d3 is a type of physiologic hormones with immunomodulatory effects. this study assessed the effect of oral vitamin d on serum levels of interleukin-1 (il-1), il-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (tnf-α) in adult coronary artery bypass grafting (cabg). materials and methods: in a double blind placebo controlled clinical trial, with a sample size of 80 patients, randomly assigned in either the placebo group (including 40 patients; placebo pills) or the intervention group (i.e. 40 patients; vitamin d pearls), cabg surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass was performed. serum cytokines (il-1, il-6, and tnf-α) were evaluated preoperatively and during the first postoperative day. results: serum tnf-α level was similar in the two groups; however, postoperative levels of il-1 and il-6 were significantly lower in vitamin d group. conclusion: the current study demonstrated that oral vitamin d supplements could augment immunomodulatory effects in adult patients undergoing cardiac surgical procedures (mainly cabg).