Sepsis is a life-threatening condition often triggered by infection. The immune system begins to attack the body’s organs. Abnormal blood clotting and organ failure can make treatment especially challenging.
Doctors are anxious to find agents that can speed recovery or reduce the severity of the reaction. Might vitamin C be helpful? A few years ago, preliminary reports suggested that intravenous vitamin C might be helpful against sepsis. However, studies of the treatment have been disappointing.
IV Vitamin C for Sepsis:
A Canadian study published in The New England Journal of Medicine tested IV vitamin C (NEJM, June 23, 2022). The investigators randomized 872 patients in the ICU with infection to either vitamin C or placebo. Clinicians administered vitamin C at a dose of 50 mg per kg of body weight every six hours. Those on placebo received a similar amount of infusion. If vitamin C had been helpful, patients receiving it would have been less likely to die or develop organ damage.
Unfortunately, those receiving the vitamin C treatment were more likely to die or develop organ dysfunction by the end of a month than those on placebo.
The researchers report:
“At 28 days, death had occurred in 152 of 429 patients (35.4%) in the vitamin C group and in 137 of 434 patients (31.6%) in the placebo group (risk ratio, 1.17; 95% CI, 0.98 to 1.40) and persistent organ dysfunction in 39 of 429 patients (9.1%) and 30 of 434 patients (6.9%), respectively (risk ratio, 1.30; 95% CI, 0.83 to 2.05).”
This finding was especially discouraging in light of a previous high-profile randomized controlled trial of intravenous vitamin C against sepsis.
Vitamin C for Sepsis Did Not Protect Organs:
An earlier study of high-dose intravenous vitamin C looked at whether this treatment could reduce organ damage compared to placebo (JAMA, Oct. 1, 2019). It did not.
However, researchers discovered an unexpected and dramatic difference in survival. Specifically, 46 percent of the 82 patients who received placebo injections had died after a month. In comparison, only 30 percent of those treated with vitamin C died. These 84 individuals also spent fewer days on average in the ICU and left the hospital sooner. Such differences in the treatment of sepsis seemed promising.
The authors call for further research to determine whether intravenous vitamin C should become part of the regimen for patients with sepsis and respiratory distress. Sadly, the current Canadian study does not support IV vitamin C as a treatment for this potentially deadly condition.
Learn More:
If you would like to learn more, you may wish to listen to Show 1201: Hard-to-Diagnose Conditions Can Be Deadly.