Safety and Effectiveness of High-Dose Vitamin C in Patients with COVID-19; A Randomized Controlled open-label Clinical Trial ‎

Background: To assess the effectiveness of vitamin C treatment against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Methods: An open-label, randomized, and controlled trial was conducted on patients with severe COVID-19 infection. The case and control treatment groups each consisted of 30 patients. The control group received lopinavir/ritonavir and hydroxychloroquine and the case group received high-dose of vitamin C (six gr daily) added to the same regimen. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between two groups with respect to age and gender, laboratory results, and underlying diseases. On the 3 rd day of hospitalization, the mean core body temperatures was significantly lower and SpO2 was higher In the case group (p value = 0.001, and 0.014, respectively). The median length of hospitalization in case group which was significantly longer than the control group (8.5 days vs. 6.5 days) (p value = 0.0280). There was no significant difference in SpO2 levels at discharge time, the length of ICU stay, and mortality between the two groups. Conclusions: : We did not find significantly better outcomes in the group who were treated with high-dose vitamin C in addition to the main treatment regimen at discharge. Trial registration: The project was registered by Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials.IRCT20200411047025N1