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Nutrients
01 22, 2020;12 (2):

The Emerging Role of Vitamin C as a Treatment for Sepsis.

Markos G Kashiouris, Michael L'Heureux, Casey A Cable, Bernard J Fisher, Stefan W Leichtle, Alpha A Fowler
Author Information
  1. Markos G Kashiouris: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, 1200 E Broad St., P.O. Box 980050, Richmond, VA 23298, Canada.
  2. Michael L'Heureux: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, 1200 E Broad St., P.O. Box 980050, Richmond, VA 23298, Canada.
  3. Casey A Cable: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, 1200 E Broad St., P.O. Box 980050, Richmond, VA 23298, Canada.
  4. Bernard J Fisher: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, 1200 E Broad St., P.O. Box 980050, Richmond, VA 23298, Canada.
  5. Stefan W Leichtle: Department of Surgery, Division of Acute Care Surgical Services, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, 1200 E Broad St., P.O. Box 980454, Richmond, VA 23298, Canada.
  6. Alpha A Fowler: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, 1200 E Broad St., P.O. Box 980050, Richmond, VA 23298, Canada.
PMID: 31978969 DOI: 10.3390/nu12020292

Abstract

Sepsis, a life-threatening organ dysfunction due to a dysregulated host response to infection, is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Decades of research have failed to identify any specific therapeutic targets outside of antibiotics, infectious source elimination, and supportive care. More recently, vitamin C has emerged as a potential therapeutic agent to treat sepsis. Vitamin C has been shown to be deficient in septic patients and the administration of high dose intravenous as opposed to oral vitamin C leads to markedly improved and elevated serum levels. Its physiologic role in sepsis includes attenuating oxidative stress and inflammation, improving vasopressor synthesis, enhancing immune cell function, improving endovascular function, and epigenetic immunologic modifications. Multiple clinical trials have demonstrated the safety of vitamin C and two recent studies have shown promising data on mortality improvement. Currently, larger randomized controlled studies are underway to validate these findings. With further study, vitamin C may become standard of care for the treatment of sepsis, but given its safety profile, current treatment can be justified with compassionate use.

Keywords

HDIVC high-dose intravenous vitamin C sepsis septic shock vitamin C

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Grants

  1. UL1 TR002649/NCATS NIH HHS

MeSH Term

Administration, Intravenous
Ascorbic Acid
Humans
Sepsis
Vitamins

Chemicals

Vitamins
Ascorbic Acid
Journal Article Review
Article has an altmetric score of 109

Word Cloud

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