Key Word(s): 1. Tuberculosis; 2. Crohn’s disease; www.selleckchem.com/screening/anti-infection-compound-library.html 3. Anti-TB therapy; Presenting Author: WEE KHOON NG Additional Authors: WEE CHIAN LIM, CHARLES VU Corresponding Author: WEE KHOON NG Affiliations: Tan Tock Seng Hospital Objective: Vitamin D deficiency and low bone mineral density (BMD) is common amongst patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) [1,2]. It is important to detect vitamin D deficiency as a higher vitamin D status significantly reduces the risk of incident Crohn’s disease (CD). Previous studies also suggested that vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for low BMD in IBD patients [3,4]. The prevalence of vitamin

D deficiency and the extent of ethnic influence remains poorly documented for Asian patients with IBD. Our aim is to evaluate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in patients with IBD in a tropical country like Singapore, with a multi-racial population (predominantly consisting of Chinese, Malay and Indian) and evaluate its association with BMD.* References in appended

file Methods: Case notes and electronic records of patients with IBD who has been treated at our centre were retrospectively reviewed. Vitamin D levels and BMD were Forskolin manufacturer checked at the discretion of the attending physician. The vitamin D levels were initially measured using assay for vitamin D3 (deficiency defined as <20 μg/L, insufficiency 20–30 μg/L), but a new assay acquired in recent years, allowed our centre to monitor total vitamin D levels, which provides a more accurate measurement of vitamin D stores in the body (deficiency defined as <12 μg/L, insufficiency 12–19 μg/L). BMD is measured using Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) criteria, T score is defined normal if ≥−1.0, osteopenia

if between −1.0 and −2.5 and osteoporosis if ≤−2.5. Vitamin D and BMD status of each patient were selleck chemicals recorded and the data analysed using the Fisher’s Exact and Chi-Square test. Results: Of the 90 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 54 patients with CD, only 47 UC (52%) and 34 CD (63%) patients had vitamin D levels measured. This adds up to a total of 81 IBD patients and 64 had low vitamin D levels (44 deficiency, 20 insufficiency). Of these, 55 were Chinese, 18 Indians and 8 Malays. Of the 47 UC patients, 39 (83%) had low vitamin D levels (26 deficiency, 13 insufficiency); of the 34 CD patients, 25 (73.5%) had low vitamin D levels (18 deficiency, 7 insufficiency). There was no difference in the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D among UC and CD patients (p = 0.41). Among Chinese patients with IBD, 39 (71%) had low vitamin D levels (29 deficiency, 10 insufficiency) compared to 17 (94%, 11 deficiency, 6 insufficiency) Indian and 8 (100%, 4 deficiency, 4 insufficiency) Malay IBD patients respectively (p = 0.03).