Does Vitamin D Supplementation Enhance Resolution of Inflammation After Community-acquired Pneumonia?

Inclusion criteria

• Adults ≥50 years of age
• Vitamin D deficiency at entry, defined as a serum total 25(OH)D concentration <50 nmol/L
• Admission to hospital with an acute illness (≤21 days) consistent with community-acquired pneumonia - at least one symptom of a lower respiratory tract infection (cough, sputum production, dyspnoea, wheeze, chest discomfort or pain, fever) and new infiltrate on chest radiograph
• Adequate mental capacity to give informed consent for participation in the study and gives written informed consent

Exclusion criteria

• Currently taking any vitamin D supplementation
• Known HIV infection, other condition causing immunosuppression, current immunosuppressive therapy or systemic corticosteroids
• Known malignancy not in remission for >3 years or terminal illness with prognosis <1year
• History of smoking within the previous 1 year
• Known or suspected diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Previous hospitalisation within 10 days of admission
• Aspiration pneumonia diagnosed by the clinical team
• Known diagnosis of cystic fibrosis, bronchiectasis or interstitial lung disease at screening
• Complications of pneumonia such as empyema or lung abscess at entry
• Recent acute coronary syndrome within the previous 1 month
• Long term oxygen therapy, chronic mechanical ventilation dependency or other contraindication to sputum induction
• Serum corrected calcium concentration >2.65 mmol/L at entry
• Chronic kidney disease stage 4-5 (estimated glomerular filtration rate <30ml/min) on an existing blood sample from the current hospital admission
• Known clinical diagnosis of liver failure
• Known or suspected diagnosis of active pulmonary tuberculosis
• Known diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism
• Known diagnosis of sarcoidosis
• Known diagnosis of nephrolithiasis
• Taking carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbital, primidone, cardiac glycosides or benzothiadiazines with concomitant calcium supplementation at entry
• Known allergy to vitamin D or its excipients
• Currently taking part in another research study