ESPEN 2021 Late Breaking Abstracts

Topic: Critical care

Abstract Submission Identifier: ESPEN21-LB-2016

THE RELATIONSHIP OF VITAMIN C AND SURVIVAL IN COVID-19 PATIENTS TREATED IN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

I. H. BAĞIŞ^*, ¹, F. ÇELİK ¹, M. SOYLU ¹

¹BIRUNI UNIVERSITY, Istanbul, Türkiye

Rationale: It is stated that the administration of high doses of intravenous (IV) vitamin C (VC), which has been the subject of discussion since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, may be associated with the cytokine storm observed during infection and increasing in parallel with the severity of the disease, and immunosuppressive effects may be observed. In this study, it was aimed to examine the relationship between IV VC and survival in patients with COVID-19 infection hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: This retrospective and cross-sectional study was carried out using data from 130 patients (68 male) treated with the diagnosis of COVID-19 in the ICU of Biruni University Hospital (Istanbul). From management system and the archive files of the patients; anamnesis and disease history collected. According to the patient's prognosis, IV VC was administered as 2-12 g/day in the ICU and biochemical parameters data were evaluated.

Results: Intravenous VC treatment was given to 53 (32 men) of 130 COVID-19 patients with a median age of 73 (IQR: 26-96) years. Length of hospitalization was higher (12 days vs. 6 days, p<0.05) in patients managed with VC than in those without. The administration of VC was associated with a significant increase in C-reactive protein, hematocrit and hemoglobin levels were higher in patients under 65 years of age who were received IV VC treatment; in patients over 65 years of age, sodium was found to be higher than those who were not received (p<0.05). 38 (68.4% men) of the patients who were given IV VC treatment and 46 (41.3% men) of those who were not given exitus. It was observed that the survival ratio of men given IV VC treatment was lower than that of women (p=0.034).

Conclusion: This study showed that administrated VC did not improve the survival and length of hospitalization. More large-scale studies are required to further assess the role of VC in the treatment of COVID-19.

References: Boretti, A., & Banik, B. K. (2020). Intravenous vitamin C for reduction of cytokines storm in acute respiratory distress syndrome. PharmaNutrition, 100190.

Milani, G. P., Macchi, M., & Guz-Mark, A. (2021). Vitamin C in the Treatment of COVID-19. Nutrients, 13(4), 1172. https:// doi.org/10.3390/nu13041172

Disclosure of Interest: None Declared

Keywords: COVID-19, cytokine storm, nutrition in intensive care, nutritional support, survival, vitamin C