Vitamin C Can Help Serious Covid-19 Cases, NZ-led Review Discovered

According to a kiwi-led review, Vitamin C helps treat patients with severe cases of Covid-19.

But the University of Otago researchers behind the study Just published in the scientific journal NutrientsEmphasizes that larger studies are needed to give more certainty-and vitamin C should not be considered to be able to prevent or treat the coronavirus.

Its role in the treatment of Covid-19 has received worldwide attention since the beginning of the pandemic, and numerous randomized clinical trials are underway.

Associate Professor Anitra Kerr of Otago is monitoring the study and said there are some promising signs that vitamin C can be used as an “adjuvant” treatment or as a complement to the main treatment. ..

She said decades of research on the role of vitamin C in the prevention and treatment of pneumonia and sepsis have already laid the foundation.

In a 2017 study, high-dose IV vitamin C treatment, along with thiamine and corticosteroids, appeared to prevent death in people with sepsis. Sepsis causes hypotension and organ failure, where the overwhelming response to infection is dangerous.

Another study, published last year, evaluated the effects of high-dose vitamin C infusions in patients with severe infections suffering from sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in which the lungs were filled with fluid.

The main outcome measure of the study did not improve within the first 4 days of vitamin C therapy, but the 28-day mortality rate of treated patients was low.

Neither of these studies examined the use of vitamin C in patients with Covid-19, but sepsis and ARDS have been admitted to the ICU and support for ventilators among patients with severe Covid-19 infections. , Or the most common condition leading to death.

“A recent study in the United States showed that patients infected with the coronavirus in the ICU with Covid-19 also had very low vitamin C levels,” Carr said.

“It’s because when you get infected, your body bites it a lot more-and your demands increase significantly.

“But the standard dose given in the intensive care unit is not enough to compensate, given that severe cases of illness are associated with a huge inflammatory response and oxidative stress.”

By intravenous administration of vitamin C, high doses can reach the body rapidly, she said.

“It’s important because every patient needs these high doses quickly, because at the door of death you need to slow down your illness as much as possible.”

It could also give clinicians more time to act, she said.

Preliminary data from trials in many hospitals around the world came from a small study conducted in Wuhan, China, where the pandemic began.

“It has a lower mortality rate in those who had the most severe cases of coronavirus disease, or those who had the most organ damage and failure, compared to those who received placebo. It showed that it responded to vitamin C, “she said.

“This is the first study, and more studies will be published next year or so. Each will add more pieces to the puzzle, but based on previous studies of pneumonia and sepsis, these I think it will be useful for patients with “”

Outside of the clinical arena, pandemics are also driving consumer interest in vitamin C.

Here in New Zealand Sales of oranges, kiwifruit and supplements surged -The citrus industry has put something on kiwi trying to stay healthy in the Covid-19 crisis.

Some people mistakenly turned to vitamins as a cure for Covid. There is widespread misleading claim on social media that high doses of vitamin C can “stop Covid-19.”

Standard doses of vitamin C are generally harmless, but high doses carry the risk of causing many side effects, including an increased risk of kidney stones in people who are already prone to the condition.

Ultimately, there was no evidence that vitamin C intake could help prevent infection, but Kerr said taking the right amount could benefit some people.

“Some studies have shown that if you are under increased stress, your risk of infection increases, so vitamin C may reduce the risk of getting it in those people,” Kerr said. Said.

“But in the average everyday person who is not exposed to extreme physical stress, it may not reduce your chances of getting sick.”

However, vitamins have been shown to reduce the duration and severity of infection in the general population.

This may reduce the progression of infection to more serious conditions such as sepsis that require ICU admission.