tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Clin Invest Med
. 2026 Jul;49(2):31-42.
doi: 10.3138/CIM-2024-0302. Epub 2026 Jul 13.
The effect of high-dose of vitamin C on mortality among aged patients with severe COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Na Li[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yixin Yan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yongming Li[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jingmin Ni[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jingjing Gao[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Xuemei Piao[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Xiaolei Hou[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Background: Critically ill patients are frequently deficient in vitamin C. Given the significant mortality rates in the elderly population associated with COVID-19, we aimed to systematically review the literature and evaluate whether high-dose vitamin C can reduce COVID-19 mortality in this population.
Methods: Multiple data sources (PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and medRxiv) were searched using the keywords "COVID-19" AND "vitamin C" up to November 2024. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving COVID-19 patients with relevant data were collected. We used a random or fixed effects meta-analysis to calculate the pooling effect.
Results: Eight RCTs comprising 2,104 patients were ultimately included in the meta-analysis. The pooling effect (odds ratio [OR] 0.97[95% CI 0.80-1.18, P = 0.76) suggested no significant difference in mortality rates between patients treated with high-dose vitamin C and those who were not.
Conclusions: Vitamin C supplementation might reduce the risk of COVID-19 mortality in critically ill patients; however, this effect varied by study. Additional research is necessary to arrive at a definitive conclusion on this subject.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; elderly peoplevsp; meta-analysis; vitamin C.
. 2026 Jul;49(2):31-42.
doi: 10.3138/CIM-2024-0302. Epub 2026 Jul 13.
The effect of high-dose of vitamin C on mortality among aged patients with severe COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Na Li[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yixin Yan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yongming Li[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jingmin Ni[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jingjing Gao[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Xuemei Piao[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Xiaolei Hou[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 42446912
- DOI: 10.3138/CIM-2024-0302
Background: Critically ill patients are frequently deficient in vitamin C. Given the significant mortality rates in the elderly population associated with COVID-19, we aimed to systematically review the literature and evaluate whether high-dose vitamin C can reduce COVID-19 mortality in this population.
Methods: Multiple data sources (PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and medRxiv) were searched using the keywords "COVID-19" AND "vitamin C" up to November 2024. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving COVID-19 patients with relevant data were collected. We used a random or fixed effects meta-analysis to calculate the pooling effect.
Results: Eight RCTs comprising 2,104 patients were ultimately included in the meta-analysis. The pooling effect (odds ratio [OR] 0.97[95% CI 0.80-1.18, P = 0.76) suggested no significant difference in mortality rates between patients treated with high-dose vitamin C and those who were not.
Conclusions: Vitamin C supplementation might reduce the risk of COVID-19 mortality in critically ill patients; however, this effect varied by study. Additional research is necessary to arrive at a definitive conclusion on this subject.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; elderly peoplevsp; meta-analysis; vitamin C.