Beneficial aspects of high dose intravenous vitamin C on patients with COVID-19 pneumonia in severe condition: a retrospective case series study

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global public health event without specific therapeutic agents till now. We aim to determine if high dose intravenous vitamin C (HDIVC) was effective for COVID-19 patients in severe condition.

Vitamin C supplementation is necessary for patients with coronavirus disease: An ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry finding

“…Furthermore, in this study, we observed that plasma VC concentrations in patients with COVID-19 were similar to in other patients, with concentrations lower than 11 μmol/L (2.00 mg/L) [ 3 , 30 ]. These results suggest the benefits of a therapeutic protocol with high-dose IV VC in patients with COVID-19 [ 7 , 9 ].…”

“…Therefore, it is necessary to supplement patients with VC. There have been reports of high-dose administration of VC in patients with COVID-19[ 8 , 9 ]. However, there are no data on plasma VC levels of patients with COVID-19.…”

“…In Wuhan, China, a high-dose of VC (24 g/day for 7 days) was reported to be effective in the treatment of 308 critically ill patients with COVID-19 [ 8 ] (NCT04264533; clincialtrials.gov). Similarly, in Shanghai, China, high-dose IV VC was used in the treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19, and was shown to be beneficial in terms of inflammatory response, and immune and organ function enhancement, in patients with severe COVID-19 patients [ 9 ]. Although VC has been used in the treatment of patients for several decades, and generally has low toxicity [ 10 ], in take of 2 g of VC per day increases human oxaluria and the risk of developing kidney stones [ 11 ], and doses > 2 g may cause adverse gastrointestinal events, such as, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and/or nausea [ 12 ].…”

Vitamin C Binds to SARS Coronavirus-2 Main Protease Essential for Viral Replication

“…A recent clinical study of injecting high doses of 77 vitamin-C (> 20 g) intravenously to combat Covid-78 19 yielded promising results (Zhao et al, 2021). In 79 another study 8 g of Vitamin C was administered 80 orally over three meals together with zinc (Thomas 81 et al, 2021).…”

“…This might imply that the inhibition of chymotrypsin-like proteases is involved in the virucidal action mechanism. The different results of the clinical studies with Vitamin C (Thomas et al, 2021;Zhao et al, 2021) become explainable in part since the amount of Vitamin C varies from > 20 g administered intravenously to 3 g administered orally per day. Studies have shown that up to 1.5 g Vitamin C per kg body mass can be safely administered (https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/hp/vitamin-c-pdq).…”