The use of IV vitamin C for patients with COVID-19: a case series
Raul Hiedra, Kevin Bryan Lo, Mohammad Elbashabsheh, Fahad Gul, Robert Matthew Wright, Jeri Albano, Zurab Azmaiparashvili, Gabriel Patarroyo Aponte
Expert Review of Anti-infective Therapy, doi:10.1080/14787210.2020.1794819
Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected almost 2.5 million people worldwide with almost 170,000 deaths reported to date. So far, there is scarce evidence for the current treatment options available for COVID-19. Vitamin C has previously been used for treatment of severe sepsis and septic shock. We reviewed the feasibility of using vitamin C in the setting of COVID-19 in a series of patients. Methods: We sequentially identified a series of patients who were requiring at least 30% of FiO2 or more who received IV vitamin C as part of the COVID-19 treatment and analyzed their demographic and clinical characteristics. We compared inflammatory markers pre and post treatment including D-dimer and ferritin. Results: We identified a total of 17 patients who received IV vitamin C for COVID-19. The inpatient mortality rate in this series was 12% with 17.6% rates of intubation and mechanical ventilation. We noted a significant decrease in inflammatory markers, including ferritin and D-dimer, and a trend to decreasing FiO2 requirements, after vitamin C administration.
Conclusion: The use of IV vitamin C in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 disease may be feasible.
Declaration of interest The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.
Reviewer disclosures Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.
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