Translation of a-t 2023; 54: 80
SIDE EFFECTS
Vitamin D intoxication due to treatment according to the COIMBRA protocol
Vitamin D intoxication has once again been reported in a patient with multiple sclerosis (MS) who took 60,000 IU daily over half a year as part of what is known as the COIMBRA protocol (25-OH D level 276.6 ng/ml). The 65-year-old man, who had high blood pressure treated with candesartan (ATACAND, generics) as a concomitant disease, developed hypercalcaemia with values of 3.2 mmol/l and acute kidney failure (eGFR 43 ml/min).1
In the COIMBRA protocol, excessive doses of vitamin D are used to treat autoimmune diseases such as MS, the development of which is allegedly based on a "vitamin D resistance".2 There is no scientific evidence of the benefits of this concept (a-t 2023; 54: 30). The Drug Commission of the German Medical Association, which is reporting on the current poisoning, continues – as we do – to advise against the use of the protocol.1
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