Conclusions Our meta- analysis indicates that vitamin C may prevent post-operative atrial fibrillation in some countries outside of the USA , and it may also shorten the duration of hospital stay and ICU stay of cardiac surgery patients .
Vitamin C is an essential nutrient that is safe and inexpensive .
Background Atrial fibrillation ( AF ) , a common arrhythmia contributing substantially to cardiac morbidity , is associated with oxidative stress and , being an antioxidant , vitamin C might influence it .
Effect of ascorbic acid on inflammatory markers after cardiothoracic surgery.
PURPOSE The effect of ascorbic acid on inflammatory markers after cardiothoracic surgery ( CTS ) was studied . METHODS In this r and omized , double-blind , placebo-controlled trial , patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass graft surgery or valve replacement surgery from April 2009 through March 2010 at Hartford Hospital were r and omized to receive ascorbic acid ( 2-g loading dose followed by 500 mg every 12 hours ) or matching placebo the evening before surgery and for four days postoperatively . Inflammatory mediators were measured preoperatively and on postoperative days 1 - 4 . Intergroup comparisons were performed using two-tailed t tests and Fisher 's exact test . Multiple comparisons were conducted using repeated analyses of variance with Bonferroni tests . RESULTS Of the 62 patients screened , 24 met the study inclusion criteria . Of these , 13 were assigned to receive ascorbic acid and 11 received placebo . Ascorbic acid did not affect the natural course of inflammatory marker rise for C-reactive protein ( CRP ) concentration , white blood cell ( WBC ) count , or fibrinogen concentration versus placebo at any evaluated time point ( p > 0.05 for all intergroup comparisons ) . Intragroup analyses demonstrated significant differences among baseline and postoperative measures of all inflammatory mediators ( p < 0.05 ) . No significant differences were noted in inflammatory markers between patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery with or without cardiopulmonary bypass , regardless of treatment group . CONCLUSION Ascorbic acid did not attenuate the rise in inflammatory markers after CTS when compared with placebo . The use of off-pump surgery did not significantly change the levels of CRP and fibrinogen or the WBC count postoperatively when compared with on-pump surgery with a biocompatible polymer coating
Conclusions Our meta- analysis indicates that vitamin C may prevent post-operative atrial fibrillation in some countries outside of the USA , and it may also shorten the duration of hospital stay and ICU stay of cardiac surgery patients .
Vitamin C is an essential nutrient that is safe and inexpensive .
Background Atrial fibrillation ( AF ) , a common arrhythmia contributing substantially to cardiac morbidity , is associated with oxidative stress and , being an antioxidant , vitamin C might influence it .