Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Up to 100 g of Intravenous Vitamin C Appears to be Safe and Elicits No Adverse Effects but Needs Further Evaluation in High-Risk Groups

  • Commentary
  • Published:
Clinical Pharmacokinetics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

The Original Article was published on 25 June 2022

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

References

  1. Chen P, Reed G, Jiang J, et al. Pharmacokinetic evaluation of intravenous vitamin C: a classic pharmacokinetic study. Clin Pharmacokinet. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40262-022-01142-1.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Scholz SS, Borgstedt R, Ebeling N, et al. Mortality in septic patients treated with vitamin C: a systematic meta-analysis. Crit Care. 2021;25(1):17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13054-020-03438-9 (PMID:33407793; PMCID:PMC7787590).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Sánchez NJ, Acosta Benito MA, et al. Glucose-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase deficiency management in Western countries: a literature review [in Spanish]. SEMERGEN. 2020;46(1):68–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semerg.2019.05.010 (PMID: 31337588).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Yanase F, Fujii T, Naorungroj T, et al. Harm of IV high-dose vitamin C therapy in adult patients: a scoping review. Crit Care Med. 2020;48(7):e620–8. https://doi.org/10.1097/CCM.0000000000004396 (PMID: 32404636).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Sidhu H, Gupta R, Thind SK, et al. Oxalate metabolism in thiamine deficient rats. Ann Nutr Metab. 1987;31:354–61.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Kahn SA, Lentz CW. Fictitious hyperglycemia: point-of-care glucose measurement is inaccurate during high-dose vitamin C infusion for burn shock resuscitation. J Burn Care Res. 2015;36:e67-71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Zhang Y, Huang W. Never a rose without a prick: pseudohyperglycemia when administering high-dose intravenous vitamin C. Crit Care. 2020;24(1):251. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13054-020-02994-4.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. de Melo AF, Homem-de-Mello M. High-dose intravenous vitamin C may help in cytokine storm in severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. Crit Care. 2020;24(1):500. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13054-020-03228-3.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Rehman A, Shehadeh M, Khirfan D, Jones A. Severe acute haemolytic anaemia associated with severe methaemoglobinaemia in a G6PD-deficient man. BMJ Case Rep. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2017-223369.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Honore PM, Spapen HD, Marik P, Boer W, Oudemans-van SH. Response to the letter of Morán et al. regarding our use of an inaccurate reference for the maximal dose of vitamin C in G6PD deficiency. Ann Intensive Care. 2020;10(1):93. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13613-020-00712-5.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Kamel AY, Dave NJ, Zhao VM, Griffith DP, Connor MJ Jr, Ziegler TR. Micronutrient alterations during continuous renal replacement therapy in critically ill adults: a retrospective study. Nutr Clin Pract. 2018;33(3):439–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/0884533617716618.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Honore PM, De Bels D, Preseau T, Redant S, Attou R, Spapen HD. Adjuvant vitamin C in cardiac arrest patients undergoing renal replacement therapy: an appeal for a higher high-dose. Crit Care. 2018;22(1):207. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13054-018-2115-9.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Marik PE, Hooper MH. Adjuvant Vitamin C in critically ill patients undergoing renal replacement therapy: what’s the right dose? Crit Care. 2018;22(1):320. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13054-018-2190-y.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Fehrman-Ekholm I, Lotsander A, Logan K, Dunge D, Odar-Cederlöf I, Kallner A. Concentrations of vitamin C, vitamin B12 and folic acid in patients treated with hemodialysis and on-line hemodiafiltration or hemofiltration. Scand J Urol Nephrol. 2008;42(1):74–80. https://doi.org/10.1080/00365590701514266.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Morena M, Cristol JP, Bosc JY, Tetta C, Forret G, Leger CL, et al. Convective and diffusive losses of vitamin C during haemodiafiltration session: a contributive factor to oxidative stress in haemodialysis patients. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2002;17(3):422–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Honore PM, Spapen HD, Marik P, Boer W, Oudemans-van SH. Dosing vitamin C in critically ill patients with special attention to renal replacement therapy: a narrative review. Ann Intensive Care. 2020;10(1):23. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13613-020-0640-6 (PMID: 32052229; PMCID: PMC7016079).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Jung SY, Lee MT, Baek MS, et al. Vitamin C for ≥ 5 days is associated with decreased hospital mortality in sepsis subgroups: a nationwide cohort study. Crit Care. 2022;26(1):3. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13054-021-03872-3 (PMID: 34983595; PMCID: PMC8728994).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. McCune TR, Toepp AJ, Sheehan BE, et al. High dose intravenous vitamin C treatment in sepsis: associations with acute kidney injury and mortality. BMC Nephrol. 2021;22(1):387. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12882-021-02599-1 (PMID: 34800992; PMCID: PMC8606062).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Litwak JJ, Cho N, Nguyen HB, et al. Vitamin C, hydrocortisone, and thiamine for the treatment of severe sepsis and septic shock: a retrospective analysis of real-world application. J Clin Med. 2019;8:478. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm8040478.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Andres A, Zeier M, Eckert C. Acute kidney injury following high-dose vitamin C treatment. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2019;116:756. https://doi.org/10.3238/arztebl.2019.0756.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICU Department, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Brugmann-Brugmann University Hospital, ULB University, Place Van Gehuchtenplein, 4, 1020, Brussels, Belgium

    Patrick M. Honore, Sydney Blackman, Ibrahim Bousbiat, Emily Perriens & Rachid Attou

Authors
  1. Patrick M. Honore
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sydney Blackman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ibrahim Bousbiat
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Emily Perriens
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Rachid Attou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Patrick M. Honore.

Ethics declarations

Funding

No external funds were used in the preparation of this commentary.

Conflicts of interest/Competing interests

Patrick M. Honore, Sydney Blackman, Ibrahim Bousbiat, Emily Perriens, and Rachid Attou have no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of this commentary.

Ethics approval

Not applicable.

Consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Availability of data and material

Not applicable.

Code availability

Not applicable.

Authors’ contributions

PMH and RA designed the paper. PMH, SB, IB, EP, and RA participated in drafting and reviewing. PMH, SB, IB, EP, and RA read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Additional information

The article is related to the article available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s40262-022-01142-1.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Honore, P.M., Blackman, S., Bousbiat, I. et al. Up to 100 g of Intravenous Vitamin C Appears to be Safe and Elicits No Adverse Effects but Needs Further Evaluation in High-Risk Groups. Clin Pharmacokinet 61, 1199–1202 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40262-022-01156-9

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40262-022-01156-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation