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Emre Basatemur, Alastair Sutcliffe, Response Letter to the Editor, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 100, Issue 1, 1 January 2015, Page L5, https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2014-4142
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We thank Sertoglu and colleagues for their interest in our surveillance study of hypocalcemic seizures secondary to vitamin D deficiency in children in the United Kingdom and Ireland. We agree that methods used for performing 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH-D) assays will vary between different laboratories and that there is considerable variability in measurements obtained using different assays (1). We also acknowledge that assay methods vary in their detection and discrimination of the C-3 epimer of 25-OH-D, the biological significance of which remains unclear (2).
Our national study used the British Pediatric Surveillance Unit (BPSU) methodology, in which consultant pediatricians report whether or not they have seen conditions under surveillance on a monthly basis (3). Further details regarding cases are requested from reporting clinicians using a study questionnaire. A key feature of the BPSU methodology is that data are collected without individual patient consent being required to minimize bias and case underascertainment that would result from refusal to participate. Thus, only minimal patient identifiers necessary for the identification of duplicate reports are collected, and study investigators do not have any contact with patients or access to biological samples.
