| Description: |
OBJECTIVE:. Vitamin C has been linked to alterations in platelet count and aggregation behavior. Given recent findings suggesting an association between vitamin C and adverse outcomes in patients with septic shock, we aimed to investigate whether vitamin C influences mortality in septic patients through its impact on platelets. DESIGN:. Post hoc analysis of the Lessening Organ Dysfunction With Vitamin C (LOVIT) randomized trial (clinicaltrials.gov NCT03680274). SETTING:. Multicenter international study. PATIENTS:. Patients were included with an ICU stay of more than 24 hours, confirmed or suspected infection, vasopressor requirement, and availability of platelet count data. INTERVENTION:. Vitamin C (50 mg/kg body weight) every 6 hours for 4 days, or placebo. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:. Of the 863 patients enrolled in the LOVIT trial, 859 had available platelet count data at any time. Although the longitudinal trajectory of platelet count was significantly associated with 28-day mortality (hazard ratio 0.97 per 10 × 109/L increase, 95% CI, 0.96–0.98), there was no interaction between the effect of vitamin C on mortality and either platelet count at baseline or over time. CONCLUSIONS:. These results do not support the hypothesis that vitamin C administration increases mortality risk by affecting platelet count. |