Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32964205›Full record

ArticleMedicine in drug discovery2020

Serum Levels of Vitamin C and Vitamin D in a Cohort of Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients of a North American Community Hospital Intensive Care Unit in May 2020: A Pilot Study.

Cristian Arvinte, Maharaj Singh, Paul E Marik

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Medicine in drug discovery, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
73citing papers in PubMed, 9 pooled it
13.5field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

73 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 129 citations in OpenAlex.

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13 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Cristian ArvinteIntensivist & Pulmonologist, North Suburban Medical Center, Thornton, Colorado 80229, USA.
Maharaj SinghResearch Assistant Professor, Biostatistics, Research and Graduate Studies, Marquette University, School of Dentistry, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201, USA.
Paul E MarikChief, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia 23507, USA.
Aurora Health Care · USEastern Virginia Medical School · USWest Suburban Medical Center · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has placed an enormous and growing burden on the population and health infrastructure, warranting innovative ways to mitigate risk of contracting and developing severe forms of this disease. A growing body of literature raises the issue of vitamin C and vitamin D as a risk-assessment tool, and therapeutic option, in COVID-19.

objectiveThe objective of this pilot study was to measure serum vitamin C and vitamin D levels in a cohort of patients with critical COVID-19 illness in our community hospital ICU, correlate with other illness risk factors (age, BMI, HgbA1c, smoking status), generate hypotheses, and suggest further therapeutic intervention studies.

methodThis pilot study included all 21 critically ill COVID-19 patients hospitalized in May 2020 in the ICU of North Suburban Medical Center, Thornton, Colorado, in whose care the principal investigator (C.A.) was involved. We measured patients' serum vitamin C and vitamin D levels, and standard risk factors like age, BMI, HbA1c, and smoking status. Variables in this study were gauged using descriptive statistics.

resultsOf 21 critically ill COVID-19 patients (15 males and 6 females, 17 Hispanic and 4 Caucasian, of median age 61 years, range 20-94), there were 11 survivors.Serum levels of vitamin C and vitamin D were low in most of our critically ill COVID-19 ICU patients.Older age and low vitamin C level appeared co-dependent risk factors for mortality from COVID-19 in our sample.Insulin resistance and obesity were prevalent in our small cohort, but smoking was not.

conclusionOur pilot study found low serum levels of vitamin C and vitamin D in most of our critically ill COVID-19 ICU patients. Older age and low vitamin C level appeared co-dependent risk factors for mortality. Many were also insulin-resistant or diabetic, overweight or obese, known as independent risk factors for low vitamin C and vitamin D levels, and for COVID-19.These findings suggest the need to further explore whether caring for COVID-19 patients ought to routinely include measuring and correcting serum vitamin C and vitamin D levels, and whether treating critically ill COVID-19 warrants acute parenteral vitamin C and vitamin D replacement.

Indexed as

AgeBody mass index (BMI)COVID-19Critical illnessHbA1c (glycated hemoglobin)Intensive care unit (ICU)SARS-CoV-2Serum vitamin CSerum vitamin D

Identifiers

PMID32964205
PMCPMC7499070
OpenAlexW3087554603

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

None linked

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.