ReviewNutrients2020
The Emerging Role of Vitamin C as a Treatment for Sepsis.
Review in Nutrients, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 80 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
SAFEty Study of Early Infusion of Vitamin C for Treatment of Novel Coronavirus Acute Lung Injury (SAFE EVICT CORONA-ALI)
Administration of Intravenous Vitamin C in Novel Coronavirus Infection and Decreased Oxygenation (AVoCaDO): A Phase I/II Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy Clinical Trial
Who cites it
80 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 178 citations in OpenAlex.
- Vitamins C and D and COVID-19 Susceptibility, Severity and Progression: An Evidence Based Systematic Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Pooled it
- The effect of intravenous vitamin C on clinical outcomes in patients with sepsis or septic shock: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Could Vitamins Help in the Fight Against COVID-19?Nutrients · 2020Pooled it
- Role of vitamin C infusion in postoperative mechanically ventilated neonates with sepsis: a randomized controlled trial.European journal of pediatrics · 2025Trial
- Effect of high-dose intravenous ascorbic acid on microcirculation and endothelial glycocalyx during sepsis and septic shock: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study.BMC anesthesiology · 2023Trial
- Pharmacokinetic Evaluation of Intravenous Vitamin C: A Classic Pharmacokinetic Study.Clinical pharmacokinetics · 2022Trial
- Intravenous vitamin C administration to patients with septic shock: a pilot randomised controlled trial.Critical care (London, England) · 2022Trial
- Low Vitamin D and C Levels are Associated with Increased Disease Activity in Jordanian RA and SLE Patients: A Case-Control StudyEndocrine, metabolic & immune disorders drug targets · 2026Article
- Effects of Vitamin C Supplementation on Total Antioxidant Status, Inflammation, and Histopathological Changes in Aged Rats.Journal of biochemical and molecular toxicology · 2025Article
- Therapeutic options for the treatment of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19: a scoping review.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Vitamin C in Sepsis: Exploring Its Role in Modulating Inflammation and Oxidative Stress.Cureus · 2025Article
- Vitamin C: A Comprehensive Review of Its Role in Health, Disease Prevention, and Therapeutic Potential.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Vitamin C improves 28-day survival in patients with sepsis-associated acute kidney injury in the intensive care unit: a retrospective study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Recent advances in understanding oxidative stress in sepsis: pathogenic roles and antioxidant therapeutic prospects - a narrative review.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Article
- Vitamin B12 status and the risk of developing sepsis in patients with bacterial infection: a prospective observational cohort study.BMC medicine · 2024Observational
- Review of the Potential Role of Ascorbate in the Prevention and Treatment of Gynecological Cancers.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Characterization of differences in immune responses during bolus and continuous infusion endotoxin challenges using mathematical modelling.Experimental physiology · 2024Article
- Article
- Interleukin-8 and neutrophil extracellular traps in children with lupus nephritis and vitamin C deficiency.Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2024Article
20 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Sepsis, a life-threatening organ dysfunction due to a dysregulated host response to infection, is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Decades of research have failed to identify any specific therapeutic targets outside of antibiotics, infectious source elimination, and supportive care. More recently, vitamin C has emerged as a potential therapeutic agent to treat sepsis. Vitamin C has been shown to be deficient in septic patients and the administration of high dose intravenous as opposed to oral vitamin C leads to markedly improved and elevated serum levels. Its physiologic role in sepsis includes attenuating oxidative stress and inflammation, improving vasopressor synthesis, enhancing immune cell function, improving endovascular function, and epigenetic immunologic modifications. Multiple clinical trials have demonstrated the safety of vitamin C and two recent studies have shown promising data on mortality improvement. Currently, larger randomized controlled studies are underway to validate these findings. With further study, vitamin C may become standard of care for the treatment of sepsis, but given its safety profile, current treatment can be justified with compassionate use.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.