Introduction:. Vitamin D plays an important role in bone turnover. Deficiency (including borderline deficiency, or insufficiency) has a known association with fractures and has been linked to delayed or nonunion of fractures. We therefore routinely test vitamin D in cases of nonunion. Noting a high rate of vitamin D deficiency in this group, we instituted a policy to routinely screen for and treat vitamin D deficiency in both post-operative and pre-operative patients. We hypothesised that, in the post-operative patients, levels would correlate with rates of union. Methods:. We sent serum vitamin D levels on consecutive post-operative patients seen in clinics between January and May 2014. They included those with an arthrodesis of the ankle, triple joint or first MTPJ. Union was deemed to have occurred when the patient was comfortable full weight bearing and radiographs showed trabeculae crossing the fusion site. Nonunions were all confirmed with computed tomography. Results:. Ten patients were treated for nonunion, and had a mean serum vitamin D of 58nmol/L. Fourteen patients (collected over a shorter time period) had confirmed union, with a mean vitamin D of 90nmol/L. This was statistically significant on a one tailed Student's t test (p=0.038). Vitamin D was deficient in five (50%) of nonunions and in three (21%) of unions, giving an odds ratio of 3.67. Conclusions:. Our early results show a significant association of serum vitamin D levels with likelihood of nonunion, and we continue to collect data. There is a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in our patient population. This is of concern both for the outcome of their surgery and for their lifetime fracture risk. We recommend either screening for or presumptively treating vitamin D deficiency

Introduction. Stress fractures in the foot are common; the common practice is to look for any factor in the history or for any foot deformity that could cause the fracture. Once found, it is common to treat the fractures without further investigations. The aim of this study is to assess if we are missing any underlying metabolic disorder associated with such injury. Materials and methods. We studied 34 sequential cases referred for chronic foot pain. Stress fractures were confirmed either by classic x-ray's features or MRI. Clinical examination and further tests were performed for Vitamin D levels, Thyroid function, PTH, DEXA scan, Biochemical and bone profile. All stress fractures were treated conservatively. Results. Mean age was 50 (13–72) (22 Females, 9 Males), 29 patients were fit and healthy ASA 1, 5 cases were ASA 2. 12 cases presented with a precipitating event. 14 cases had a minor foot deformity (such as hallux valgus of minor pes planus). mean BMI 27.6. The blood tests newly diagnosed: 17 Vitamin D deficiencies cases, 2 hyperparathyroidism cases, one case of Cushing's Syndrome secondary to adrenal adenoma and one case of delay in puberty in addition to 3 osteoporosis cases. All fractures responded to conservative means of treatment and none needed surgical interventions. Discussion. The study shows that the incidence of endocrinological disorders is patients presenting with stress fractures is much higher than the incidence in the general population; for example the incidence of Cushing's syndrome is 1 per 130000 individuals while in our series was 1 per 34. This study raises the question if all patients presetting with stress fractures should be investigated for endocrinological disorders