The relation of preoperative 25-OH Vitamin D Levels with Postoperative Complications in Patients undergoing Colorectal Cancer Surgery

Background: To investigate the effect of preoperative 25-OH vitamin D levels on postoperative complications in patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery. Methods: Consecutive newly diagnosed colorectal cancer patients who met the inclusion criteria were prospectively included in this single-center observational study. Preoperative 25-OH vitamin D levels were measured and analyzed for association with postoperative complications using univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses. Results: A total of 104 colorectal cancer patients were included in this study. Preoperative 25-OH vitamin D levels were found to be <10 ng/ml in 31 (29.8%) patients, 10-20 ng/ml in 42 (40.4%) patients, between 20-30 ng/ml in 25 (24%) patients and >30 ng/ml in 6 (5.8%) patients. In patients with infective complications, the mean value of 25-OH vitamin D levels were 12.33 (±6.306) ng/ml which was found to be statistically significant (p:0.026). In univariable logistic regression analyses, variables found to be associated with postoperative complications were age ≥ 65, male gender and preoperative 25-OH vitamin D levels, whereas in multivariable analyses, preoperative levels of 25-OH vitamin D were not found to be related with postoperative complications. Conclusions: We demonstrated that vitamin D deficiency is a significant risk factor for development of infective complications and seems to be independently associated with postoperative complications in patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery.