Ayyan, Muhammad

Vitamin C is a vital nutrient that functions as an antioxidant and is important as a co-factor and regulator of several immune system pathways. The role of vitamin C in the treatment of COVID-19 is largely debatable. We conducted this meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of vitamin C in the treatment of COVID-19. We searched several electronic databases from inception to March 2023 to retrieve randomized controlled trials on the use of Vitamin C for COVID-19. RevMan 5.4 was used to calculate risk ratios (RRs) and Mean Differences (MDs) along with confidence intervals (95% CI) using a random-effects model. We included 9 randomized controlled trials in our meta-analysis. Vitamin C did not reduce the all-cause mortality in patients with COVID-19 compared to the standard treatment [RR 0.86, 95% CI: 0.65-1.14; I 2 =66%]. Vitamin C was found to be associated with an increased incidence of ventilation in COVID-19 patients when compared to standard treatment [RR 1.37, 95% CI: 1.18-1.59; I 2 =58%]. There were no significant differences between both groups regarding the incidence of hospitalization [RR 1.00, 95% CI: 0.98-1.02; I 2 =0%], incidence of recovery [RR 1.57, 95% CI: 0.45-5.50; I 2 =52%], hospital mortality [RR 0.68, 95% CI: 0.44-1.06; I 2 =0%] and length of hospital stay [MD -0.63, 95% CI: -3.04 to 1.78; I 2 =81%]. Vitamin C administration did not reduce all-cause mortality in COVID-19 patients. Additional studies are required to evaluate the role of Vitamin C in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 especially in ICU patients.