Vitamin D Deficiency and Driveline Infections in Patients With Left Ventricular Assist Devices

BACKGROUND: Despite major advancements in the field of durable left ventricular assist devices (LVADs), driveline infection is a major source of morbidity and mortality. Risk factors have been proposed, but few are modifiable. We evaluated vitamin D deficiency as a potential modifiable risk factor for driveline infection. METHODS AND RESULTS: This single-center, retrospective study included 134 LVAD recipients between 2010 and 2022. Patients were divided into two groups based on their pre-implant vitamin D levels: the vitamin D sufficient group (≥ 30 ng/mL) and the vitamin D deficient group (< 30 ng/mL). The Kaplan-Meier method estimated 18-month freedom from driveline infection. The Cox proportional hazards model estimated the effect of vitamin D deficiency on driveline infections. Kaplan-Meier estimates for infection-free survival were significantly higher in the sufficient group (90.5% vs. 69.6%, p = 0.014). Vitamin D deficiency (HR: 3.644, 95% CI: 1.271-10.448, p = 0.016) and obesity (HR: 3.190, 95% CI: 1.464-7.400, p = 0.004) were found to be independent risk factors for driveline infection. CONCLUSION: Our findings support vitamin D deficiency as a potential modifiable risk factor for driveline infection. Obesity was also noted as a significant risk factor for infection. Further research is warranted to establish causality and assess the impact of vitamin D repletion on infection rates.