History of scurvy and use of vitamin C in critical illness: A narrative review.
Nutr Clin Pract
; 2022 Sep 25.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2240378
ABSTRACT
In 1747, an important milestone in the history of clinical research was set, as the Scottish surgeon James Lind conducted the first randomized controlled trial. Lind was interested in scurvy, a severe vitamin C deficiency which caused the death of thousands of British seamen. He found that a dietary intervention with oranges and lemons, which are rich in vitamin C by nature, was effective to recover from scurvy. Because of its antioxidative properties and involvement in many biochemical processes, the essential micronutrient vitamin C plays a key role in the human biology. Moreover, the use of vitamin C in critical illness-a condition also resulting in death of thousands in the 21st century-has gained increasing interest, as it may restore vascular responsiveness to vasoactive agents, ameliorate microcirculatory blood flow, preserve endothelial barriers, augment bacterial defense, and prevent apoptosis. Because of its redox potential and powerful antioxidant capacity, vitamin C represents an inexpensive and safe antioxidant, with the potential to modify the inflammatory cascade and improve clinical outcomes of critically ill patients. This narrative review aims to update and provide an overview on the role of vitamin C in the human biology and in critically ill patients, and to summarize current evidence on the use of vitamin C in diverse populations of critically ill patients, in specific focusing on patients with sepsis and coronavirus disease 2019.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
/
Reviews
Language:
English
Journal subject:
Nutritional Sciences
/
Nursing
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ncp.10914
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