• Aileen Hill, Sebastian Wendt, Carina Benstoem, Christina Neubauer, Patrick Meybohm, Pascal Langlois, Neill Kj Adhikari, Daren K Heyland, and Christian Stoppe.
• Department of Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital RWTH, D-52074 Aachen, Germany. ahill@ukaachen.de.
• Nutrients. 2018 Jul 27; 10 (8).

AbstractThe pleiotropic biochemical and antioxidant functions of vitamin C have sparked recent interest in its application in intensive care. Vitamin C protects important organ systems (cardiovascular, neurologic and renal systems) during inflammation and oxidative stress. It also influences coagulation and inflammation; its application might prevent organ damage. The current evidence of vitamin C's effect on pathophysiological reactions during various acute stress events (such as sepsis, shock, trauma, burn and ischemia-reperfusion injury) questions whether the application of vitamin C might be especially beneficial for cardiac surgery patients who are routinely exposed to ischemia/reperfusion and subsequent inflammation, systematically affecting different organ systems. This review covers current knowledge about the role of vitamin C in cardiac surgery patients with focus on its influence on organ dysfunctions. The relationships between vitamin C and clinical health outcomes are reviewed with special emphasis on its application in cardiac surgery. Additionally, this review pragmatically discusses evidence on the administration of vitamin C in every day clinical practice, tackling the issues of safety, monitoring, dosage, and appropriate application strategy.

28 keywords...

hide…