Vitamin C May Increase the Recovery Rate of Outpatient Cases of SARS-CoV-2 Infection by 70%: Reanalysis of the COVID A to Z Randomized Clinical Trial

Hemilä, Harri; Carr, Anitra C.; Chalker, Elizabeth

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2021.674681

Cited by 32 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…29,[39][40][41][42] There is also evidence that regular intake of high-doses of vitamin C shortens colds that occur during the supplementation period, [43][44][45] and a recent randomized trial found that therapeutic vitamin C increased the recovery rate for outpatient cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. 37 It seems that the effects of zinc lozenges and vitamin C for the common cold have been ignored not on the basis of evidence from randomized trials, but because of prejudices. [44][45][46][47] Carrageenan is a more recent potential treatment for the common cold.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[34][35][36] A similar approach was recently used to analyze the therapeutic effect of vitamin C on SARS-Cov-2 infection. 37 Since there were censored data, we used the crq procedure of the quantreg package of R to calculate the 95% CI for the quantile treatment effect for 80th percentile level using the PengHuang option. 35,36 To estimate the effect of carrageenan on the mean duration of colds within quintiles of the duration distribution, we calculated the mean durations for the 1st to 4th quintiles, but not for the 5th quintile because the last included the censored observations.…”

Section: What This Study Addsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These can be compared with the 33% average decrease in common cold duration in seven trials with zinc lozenges, 41 and the roughly 20% decrease in cold duration with high vitamin C doses. 37,44,45,48 The benefit of nasal carrageenan was seen only on colds lasting over a week or so. However, a 28% shortening of 2-week colds is a much more important finding than a similar effect for short colds.…”

Section: Ta B L Ementioning

confidence: 99%

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Carrageenan nasal spray may double the rate of recovery from coronavirus and influenza virus infections: Re‐analysis of randomized trial data

Hemilä

Chalker

2021

Pharmacology Res & Perspec

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In this individual patient data meta‐analysis we examined datasets of two randomized placebo‐controlled trials which investigated the effect of nasal carrageenan separately on children and adults. In both trials, iota‐carrageenan was administered nasally three times per day for 7 days for patients with the common cold and follow‐up lasted for 21 days. We used Cox regression to estimate the effect of carrageenan on recovery rate. We also used quantile regression to calculate the effect of carrageenan on colds of differing lengths. Nasal carrageenan increased the recovery rate from all colds by 54% (95% CI 15%–105%; p = .003). The increase in recovery rate was 139% for coronavirus infections, 119% for influenza A infections, and 70% for rhinovirus infections. The mean duration of all colds in the placebo groups of the first four quintiles were 4.0, 6.8, 8.8, and 13.7 days, respectively. The fifth quintile contained patients with censored data. The 13.7‐day colds were shortened by 3.8 days (28% reduction), and 8.8‐day colds by 1.3 days (15% reduction). Carrageenan had no meaningful effect on shorter colds. In the placebo group, 21 patients had colds lasting over 20 days, compared with six patients in the carrageenan group, which corresponds to a 71% ( p = .003) reduction in the risk of longer colds. Given that carrageenan has an effect on diverse virus groups, and effects at the clinical level on two old coronaviruses, it seems plausible that carrageenan may have an effect on COVID‐19. Further research on nasal iota‐carrageenan is warranted.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: What This Study Addsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ta B L Ementioning

confidence: 99%

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Carrageenan nasal spray may double the rate of recovery from coronavirus and influenza virus infections: Re‐analysis of randomized trial data

Hemilä

Chalker

2021

Pharmacology Res & Perspec

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“…Siahkali et al (2021) [36] did not observe significantly better outcomes such mortality, duration of hospitalization and need for ICU admission, with HDIVC treatment (6 g/day for 5 days). Similar work by Thomas et al (2021) [37] also found no significant improvement in symptom reduction (fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue), compared with standard care, although these results have been reanalyzed and contested by Hemil€ a, Carr and Chalker (2021) [38].…”

Section: Studies Addressing Vitamin C Supplementation During Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 94%

Nutritional risk of vitamin D, vitamin C, zinc, and selenium deficiency on risk and clinical outcomes of COVID-19: A narrative review

Pedrosa

Barros

Leite-Lais

2022

Clinical Nutrition ESPEN

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The pathogenicity of the current coronavirus disease shows postulates that optimal status of essential nutrients is crucial in supporting both the early viraemic and later hyperinflammatory phases of COVID-19. Micronutrients such as vitamin C, D, zinc, and selenium play roles in antioxidant, antiinflammatory, antithrombotic, antiviral, and immuno-modulatory functions and are useful in both innate and adaptive immunity. The purpose of this review is to provide a high-level summary of evidence on clinical outcomes associated with nutritional risk of these micronutrients observed in patients with COVID-19. A literature search was performed on PubMed and Google Scholar to obtain findings of crosssectional and experimental studies in humans. The search resulted in a total of 1212 reports including all nutrients, but only 85 were included according to the eligibility criteria. Despite the diversity of studies and the lack of randomized clinical trials and prospective cohorts, there is evidence of the potential protective and therapeutic roles of vitamin C, D, zinc, and selenium in COVID-19. The findings summarized in this review will contribute to guide interventions in clinical practice or in future clinical studies.

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“…This trial was underpowered as it was halted early, but nevertheless showed a non-significant 1.2-day decrease in duration to reach 50% reduction in symptoms in the participants who received supplemental vitamin C (8 g/day). Furthermore, independent statistical analysis of the results showed a significant 70% increase in the rate of recovery in the vitamin C group compared to standard care [ 26 ]. Similarly, in the case of the common cold, meta-analysis of 31 trials indicated that prophylactic vitamin C supplementation in the general population can decrease both the duration and severity of the common cold, with up to an 18% decreased duration in children who received ≥1 g/day [ 11 ].…”

Section: Attenuating Infection Symptoms and Severitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-Level Immune Support by Vitamins C and D during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

Carr

Gombart

2022

Nutrients

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Vitamins C and D have well-known immune supportive roles, with deficiencies in both vitamins predisposing to increased risk and severity of respiratory infections. Numerous studies have indicated that administration of these vitamins, particularly to people who are deficient, can decrease the risk and severity of respiratory infections. This has stimulated an interest in the potential efficacy of these vitamins in people with novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection and its more severe disease (COVID-19). In this overview, we highlight the current research evidence around the multiple levels of immune support provided by vitamins C and D in the context of general respiratory infections and with a focus on the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. These include: prevention of infection; attenuating infection symptoms and severity; adjunctive therapy for severe disease; attenuating ongoing sequelae (e.g., long COVID); and immunisation support. Although some of these topics have not yet been investigated in great depth concerning SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, extensive research into the role of these vitamins in general respiratory infections has highlighted directions for future research in the current pandemic.

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Vitamin C May Increase the Recovery Rate of Outpatient Cases of SARS-CoV-2 Infection by 70%: Reanalysis of the COVID A to Z Randomized Clinical Trial

Cited by 32 publications

References 25 publications

Carrageenan nasal spray may double the rate of recovery from coronavirus and influenza virus infections: Re‐analysis of randomized trial data

Carrageenan nasal spray may double the rate of recovery from coronavirus and influenza virus infections: Re‐analysis of randomized trial data

Nutritional risk of vitamin D, vitamin C, zinc, and selenium deficiency on risk and clinical outcomes of COVID-19: A narrative review

Multi-Level Immune Support by Vitamins C and D during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

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