Sepsis: vitamin C cocktail against death

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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Sepsis, also known colloquially as blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition. Treatment is a race against death. But giving a simple infusion of vitamins and cortisone could drastically reduce the death toll.

And the number of deaths from sepsis is high: Even in a medically very well cared for country like Germany, 280,000 people suffer from sepsis every year, around 70,000 die from it.

Vitamin C, hydrocortisone, thiamine

A team led by intensive care physician Paul E. Marik from the Eastern Virginia Medical School in the USA is also repeatedly fighting for the lives of sepsis patients. The doctors gave three apparently doomed patients a cocktail of three components: vitamin C, hydrocortisone and thiamine (vitamin B1). “All three recovered impressively. Within a few days they were able to breathe again without a ventilator and they did not retain any permanent organ damage, ”the researchers write.

The reason for the combined administration: Vitamin C has, among other things, a strong antioxidant effect - and can thus protect the body tissue from so-called free radicals. At the same time, the vitamin C level in sepsis patients is particularly low, which can only be effectively compensated by an intravenous infusion. Hydrocortisone in turn dampens strong inflammatory reactions - one of the main problems in sepsis. It is also known that sepsis patients with low thiamine levels have a higher risk of death. Previous studies had examined the effectiveness and safety of the administration of the individual components of the cocktail. It has now been shown for the first time what the combination can achieve.

Two thirds fewer deaths

Encouraged by the results of their experiment born of necessity, the doctors administered the active ingredient combination to all 47 cases of sepsis in their department in addition to the classic therapy over the next seven months. This usually consists of the administration of antibiotics to contain the infection and, if necessary, life-sustaining intensive care measures.

The doctors compared the results with the survival rates of 47 patients who had been hospitalized in a similarly critical condition prior to the introduction of their new therapy. Of the seriously ill sepsis patients treated before the new standard was introduced, 40 percent died. Of those treated with the vitamin hydrocortisone infusion, it was only nine percent. The researchers emphasize that none of these four patients died from the direct effects of sepsis, but from another underlying disease. The time in which the patients had to be artificially ventilated also decreased significantly: from 28 to 54 hours to 10 to 18 hours.

Saving lives worldwide

The intravenous administration of six grams of vitamin C per day in combination with hydrocortisone and thiamine seems to be able to prevent the progressive multi-organ failure, including acute kidney failure, Marik interprets the result. “The explanation for why this combination is so effective is believed to be multiple overlapping effects. We also believe that vitamin C and hydrocortisone interact and reinforce each other, ”the authors write.

"The measure has the potential to reduce global mortality from sepsis," says Marik. “We haven't tested an expensive designer molecule here.” Since the infusions are so inexpensive, they can also be used in poorer regions of the world without any problems.

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