Vitamin D (Calciferol, Ergocalciferol, Rocaltrol)

Category:

  • Vitamin

Description:

  • Dietary supplement; fat-soluble vitamin

Indications:

  • Vitamin D deficiency

    • Ricketts in children

    • Osteomalacia in elderly

  • Familial hypophosphatemia

  • Familial hypoparathyroidism

  • Bone, cartilage development

  • Calcium absorption  

Contraindications:

  • Do not administer intravenously.

Precautions:

  • Pregnancy category C

  • Potency is expressed in the form of International Units (IU)

  • Vitamin D is considered a hormone that promotes active absorption of calcium and phosphorus in the small intestine.

  • Vitamin D deficiency leads to progressive hearing loss, rickets and/or osteomalacia.

  • Patients may develop hypervitaminosis D with excessive dosages (greater than 60,000 IU per day).  Symptoms of hypervitaminosis D are:

    • Hypercalcemia

    • Hypercalciuria

    • Hyperphosphatemia

    • Anorexia

    • Nausea

    • Weakness

    • Weight loss

    • Vague aches and stiffness

    • Constipation

    • Diarrhea

    • Mental retardation and a multitude of other symptoms.

Adverse Reactions (Side Effects):

  • Relatively non-toxic in therapeutic doses

  • Early: weakness, headache, somnolence, nausea, vomiting, dry mouth, myalgia

  • Late: 

    • Polyuria

    • Polydypsia

    • Anorexia

    • Irritability

    • Nocturia

Dosage:

  • Dietary sources: Converted from dietary cholesterol by UV radiation (sunlight exposure), milk (Vitamin D fortified), oily fish, liver, eggs

  • Administered orally (soft gelatin capsules, tablets, liquid) and IM injection

  • Dietary supplementation (RDA: recommended daily allowance):

    • Adults <25 years old: 400 IU per day

    • Adults >25 years old: 200 IU per day

  • Vitamin D resistant rickets: 12,000-500,000 IU per day

  • Hypoparathyroidism: 50,000-200,000 IU per day

  • Familial hypophosphatemia: 10,00-80,000 IU per day

 

 

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Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited.

The information contained here is an abbreviated summary. For more detailed and complete information, consult the manufacturer's product information sheets or standard textbooks.

Source: Operational Medicine 2001, Health Care in Military Settings, NAVMED P-5139, May 1, 2001, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Department of the Navy, 2300 E Street NW, Washington, D.C., 20372-5300.

Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
Department of the Navy
2300 E Street NW
Washington, D.C
20372-5300

Operational Medicine
 Health Care in Military Settings
CAPT Michael John Hughey, MC, USNR
NAVMED P-5139
  January 1, 2001

United States Special Operations Command
7701 Tampa Point Blvd.
MacDill AFB, Florida
33621-5323

*This web version is provided by The Brookside Associates, LLC.  It contains original contents from the official US Navy NAVMED P-5139, but has been reformatted for web access and includes advertising and links that were not present in the original version. The medical information presented was reviewed and felt to be accurate in 2001. Medical knowledge and practice methods may have changed since that time. Some links may no longer be active. This web version has not been approved by the Department of the Navy or the Department of Defense. The presence of any advertising on these pages does not constitute an endorsement of that product or service by either the US Department of Defense or the Brookside Associates. The Brookside Associates is a private organization, not affiliated with the United States Department of Defense.

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