• Suzan Chen, Darren M Roffey, Charles-Antoine Dion, Abdullah Arab, and Eugene K Wai.
• *University of Ottawa Spine Program, The Ottawa Hospital §Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa Divisions of †Neurosurgery ∥Orthopaedic Surgery, The Ottawa Hospital ‡Clinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
• Clin J Pain. 2016 Feb 1; 32 (2): 179-85.

ObjectivesPostoperative pain can contribute to increased risk for complications and lengthened hospital stays. The objective was to analyze the effects of perioperative vitamin C supplementation on postoperative pain and the development of complex regional pain syndrome I (CRPS I) in patients undergoing surgical procedures.Materials And MethodsA systematic review of published literature was performed through April 2014. References from relevant studies were scanned for additional studies. Results were screened for relevance independently, and full-text studies were assessed for eligibility. Reporting quality was assessed using a modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.ResultsThe search strategy yielded 710 studies, of which 13 were included: 7 on postoperative pain and 6 on CRPS I. In the final analysis, 1 relevant study found a reduction in postoperative morphine utilization after preoperative vitamin C consumption, whereas another showed no difference in postoperative pain outcomes between the vitamin C and control groups. A meta-analysis of 3 applicable CRPS I studies showed a decrease in postoperative CRPS I after perioperative vitamin C supplementation (relative risk=2.25; τ²=0).DiscussionThere is moderate-level evidence supporting the use of a 2 g preoperative dose of vitamin C as an adjunct for reducing postoperative morphine consumption, and high-level evidence supporting perioperative vitamin C supplementation of 1 g/d for 50 days for CRPS I prevention after extremity surgery. Additional studies are necessary to increase the level of evidence to determine the overall effectiveness and optimum dosage of vitamin C.

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