Interpreting Vitamin D Assay Results: Proceed with Caution

Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency are common in patients with CKD. Association studies suggest that low 25-hydroxyvitamin D₃ (25-OH-D₃) is a harbinger of poor outcomes in these patients. Serum 25-OH-D represents the best biomarker of vitamin D status, but there is much debate surrounding the performance of some of the assay methods. Programs such as the Vitamin D Standardization Program and Vitamin D External Quality Assessment Scheme (DEQAS) in the United Kingdom have allowed us to assess the accuracy and reproducibility of the available methods. Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry–based methods for serum 25-OH-D measurement are emerging as more accurate and reliable alternatives to the immunoassay-based methods that have dominated over the past 2 decades. There is a renewed optimism that serum 25-OH-D is a useful biomarker to be used in patients with CKD, in particular to diagnose vitamin D deficiency and monitor vitamin D therapy. This commentary discusses some of the methodologic problems associated with serum 25-OH-D assays and their resolution, and looks forward to the future of vitamin D testing.