Assessment for and treatment of osteoporosis is recommended following hip fracture. All forms of osteoporosis treatment require an adequate calcium intake and normal vitamin D levels. This study assesses vitamin D levels in patients with hip fractures and describes guidelines on how to manage low vitamin D levels with high dose oral vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were measured in consecutive patients with a hip fracture over an 18 month period. Substitution therapy with high dose oral cholecalciferol was started in 2 selected cohorts; one group received substitution therapy for 3 days, the second group for 7 days.Introduction
Materials and methods