London: Administering vitamin C to patients in intensive care unit (ICU) can help shorten their stay, scientists say. The researchers from University of Sydney in Australia and University of Helsinki in Finland, carried out a systematic review of vitamin C for ICU patients.
They identified 18 relevant controlled trials, and 12 of them were included in the meta-analysis on the length of stay. On average, vitamin C administration shortened ICU stay by 7.8 per cent. “Vitamin C is a safe, low-cost essential nutrient.
Given the consistent evidence from the trials published so far, vitamin C might be administered to ICU patients, although further studies are needed to find out optimal protocols for its administration,” researchers said.
