The Study
The effect of High-Dose Vitamin C Treatment for Acute Respiratory Failure Due to Coronavirus Disease Pneumonia on Mortality and Length of Intensive Care Stay: A Retrospective Cohort Study
This study looked at sick people in the hospital who got vitamin C and those who didn’t, and saw if they got better faster. But the doctors decided who got vitamin C, not a random flip of a coin, so maybe the people who got it were just a little healthier to begin with. That means we can’t say vitamin C definitely helped or hurt — we can only say it might be linked to some small changes in blood tests.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
Doctors gave very high doses of vitamin C through an IV to sick COVID patients in the ICU to see if it helped them live longer or leave the hospital sooner.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 553 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Even though inflammation markers improved, patients didn't live longer, leave the ICU sooner, or need less breathing support — so the lab improvements didn't translate to real benefits.
- 2Vitamin C didn't lower death rates (44% died vs.
- 360% without it), didn't shorten ICU stays (10 days both groups), and didn't reduce need for breathing machines (74% vs.
- 475%).
- 5But it did help lower inflammation markers: SOFA score rose less, CRP and ferritin went down.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
The Medical Bulletin of Sisli Etfal Hospital
Year
2023
Authors
N. Çoşkun, Mustafa Altınay, H. Turk, Nebia Peker, Serkan İslamoğlu, Ayşe Surhan Çınar, Melis Ozkan
Related Content
Claims (6)
In critically ill patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and breathing failure, receiving high-dose intravenous vitamin C for four days did not reduce the chance of dying within 28 days or shorten the time spent in the ICU, even though some blood markers improved.
In critically ill patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, intravenous vitamin C at 6 grams per day for four days was associated with a smaller rise in organ dysfunction scores and a modest drop in ferritin levels compared to patients who did not receive it.
In patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia, intravenous vitamin C at 6 grams per day for four days was associated with lower increases in two markers of inflammation—C-reactive protein and procalcitonin—compared to patients who did not receive it.
In patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia, receiving high-dose intravenous vitamin C for four days did not significantly reduce the need for breathing machines or blood pressure medications compared to those who did not receive it.
In critically ill patients, high-dose intravenous vitamin C is associated with higher rates of death and organ failure.
In patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia, receiving high-dose intravenous vitamin C for four days resulted in a 31% improvement in oxygenation levels, compared to a 20% improvement in those who did not receive it, without reducing the need for mechanical ventilation.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.