Administering Vitamin C to Patients in the Intensive Care Unit Can Decrease Length of Stay

The use of vitamin C can shorten the length of stay for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) and decrease the duration of mechanical ventilation, according to researchers from the University of Helsinki and the University of Sydney, who published their findings in Nutrients.

For this study, researchers performed a systematic review of vitamin C being administered to ICU patients. They identified 18 relevant controlled trials with a total of 2,004 patients, including trials that compared the duration of ICU stay and/or the duration of mechanical ventilation between a group receiving vitamin C and a control group. Moreover, researchers included trials in which the administration of vitamin C was the only difference between the trial groups, thus including studies which administered other therapies as well as vitamin C, if the other therapies were consistent for both trial groups.

A Reduction in Stay Time

The trial’s primary outcome was length of ICU stay, and the secondary outcome was the duration of mechanical ventilation. The researchers aggregated data for tertiary outcomes from the included trials when they appeared relevant for study evaluation. These data included multi-organ failure scores, inflammation markers, dose and duration of norepinephrine administration, create kinase MB isoenzyme (CK-MB) levels, requirement for fluid infusions, and cardiac index during follow-up.

In 12 trials with 1,766 patients, the study results suggest vitamin C reduced the length of ICU stay on average by 7.8% (95% CI, 4.2% to 11.2%; p = 0.00003). In six trials, orally administered vitamin C in doses of 1–3 g/day (weighted mean 2.0 g/day) decreased the length of ICU stay by 8.6% (p = 0.003). Furthermore, in three trials in which patients needed mechanical ventilation for over 24 hours, vitamin C diminished the duration of mechanical ventilation by 18.2% (95% CI, 7.7% to 27%; p = 0.001).

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Establishing an Administration Protocol

“Vitamin C is a safe, low-cost essential nutrient,” said Dr. Harri Hemilä from the University of Helsinki and Dr. Elizabeth Chalker from the University of Sydney, co-authors of this study, in a press release. “Given the consistent evidence from trials published so far, vitamin C might be administered to ICU patients.”

The physicians noted that although the evidence from the trials indicates that vitamin C might be a viable option in an ICU setting, additional studies are required to elucidate the optimal protocols for its administration. They continued by saying that a “few common cold studies have indicated that there may be a linear dose response for vitamin C on common cold duration for up to 6 and 8 grams per day. Evidently the dose response for doses higher than 2 grams per day should also be investigated for ICU patients.”

Vitamin C Can Shorten the Length of Stay in the ICU: A Meta-Analysis https://t.co/eaPk74FsJq

— OccuWorld 🏴 (@OccuWorld) March 28, 2019

#Vitamin C can shorten the length of stay in the #ICU @helsinkiuni https://t.co/6eDMy9UnVy

— Medical Xpress (@physorg_health) March 28, 2019