Intermittent high-dose vitamin D prophylaxis during infancy: effect on vitamin D metabolites, calcium, and phosphorus.

In infants receiving intermittent high dose vitamin D prophylaxis (600,000 IU ergocalciferol per dose orally) every 3-5 mo, the serum concentrations of vitamin D metabolites, calcium (Ca), and phosphorus (P) were determined before and 2 wk after each dose. The 25-hydroxyvitamin D (OHD) concentrations increased to well above normal but the values returned to the normal range before each subsequent dose. The 24,25- and 25,26-dihydroxyvitamin D ([OH]2D) levels followed a pattern similar to that of 25-OHD, and both were closely related to the latter (r = 0.