• Oral 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (250HD3) has been used to prevent early neonatal hypocalcemia. Thirty premature neonates were studied prospectively from birth: 22 premature infants constituted a control group, and eight were treated orally with 250HD3 (2 μg/kg/day) for five days beginning within the first 12 hours of life. Eleven of the 22 premature infants in the control group became hypocalcemic, with serum ionized calcium (Ca++) level less than 3.0 mg/dl and total calcium (CaT) level less than 7.0 mg/dl on day 2 of life. Only one of the eight premature infants treated with 250HD3 became hypocalcemic. In treated neonates, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, as well as serum Ca and CaT levels, increased during the first five days of life and were considerably greater than levels in control neonates. No untoward effects of this treatment were observed.
(Am J Dis Child 132:973-977, 1978)