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World J Virol. Sep 25, 2022; 11(5): 300-309
Published online Sep 25, 2022. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v11.i5.300
Role of high dose vitamin C in management of hospitalised COVID-19 patients: A minireview
Deven Juneja, Anish Gupta, Sahil Kataria, Omender Singh
Deven Juneja, Anish Gupta, Sahil Kataria, Omender Singh, Institute of Critical Care Medicine, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, New Delhi 110017, India
Author contributions: Juneja D, Gupta A, and Kataria S performed the majority of the writing, prepared the tables, and performed data accusation; Singh O provided the input in writing the paper and reviewed the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There are no conflicts of interest to report.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Deven Juneja, DNB, FCCP, MBBS, Director, Institute of Critical Care Medicine, Max Super Speciality Hospital, 1 Press Enclave Road, Saket, New Delhi 110017, India. devenjuneja@gmail.com
Received: July 29, 2022
Peer-review started: July 29, 2022
First decision: August 22, 2022
Revised: August 22, 2022
Accepted: September 1, 2022
Article in press: September 1, 2022
Published online: September 25, 2022
Processing time: 56 Days and 21.5 Hours
Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has emerged as one of the most dreadful viruses the mankind has witnessed. It has caused world-wide havoc and wrecked human life. In our quest to find therapeutic options to counter this threat, several drugs have been tried, with varying success. Certain agents like corticosteroids, some anti-virals and immunosuppressive drugs have been found useful in improving clinical outcomes. Vitamin C, a water-soluble vitamin with good safety profile, has been tried to reduce progression and im-prove outcomes of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Because of its anti-oxidant and immunomodulatory properties, the role of vitamin C has expanded well beyond the management of scurvy and it is increasingly been employed in the treatment of critically ill patients with sepsis, septic shock, acute pancreatitis and even cancer. However, in spite of many case series, observational studies and even randomised control trials, the role of vitamin C remains ambiguous. In this review, we will be discussing the scientific rationale and the current clinical evidence for using high dose vitamin C in the management of COVID-19 patients.

Keywords: Ascorbic acid; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Vitamin C

Core Tip: Vitamin C has several biochemical effects including anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, immuno-modulatory, and anti-viral properties which could make it a possible low-risk, add on to the current therapeutic options for managing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. As it is a water-soluble vitamin, even high doses have been shown to be safe and only rarely, complications have been reported. In the last couple of years, many case series, observational studies and even randomised control trials have been conducted to evaluate the role of vitamin C in COVID-19, but have shown conflicting results. Hence, as per the current clinical evidence, the role of vitamin C remains ambiguous and it cannot be recommended as a part of routine therapeutic regimen for managing COVID-19 patients.