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 .
Depletion of plasma vitamin C but not of vitamin E in response to cardiac operations.
The whole-body inflammatory response produced by cardiopulmonary bypass is an important cause of perioperative morbidity after cardiac operations . This inflammatory response produces reactive oxygen species and other cytotoxic substances , such as the cytokines . The generation of reactive oxygen species might deplete principal antioxidant micronutrients , that is , vitamins C and E and the carotenoids . Therefore , we have investigated the time course of the plasma concentrations of vitamins C and E and the carotenoids in 18 patients undergoing coronary bypass operations after r and omization for previous vitamin E supplementation ( 300 mg dl-alpha-acetyl-tocopherol 3 times daily for 4 weeks ) or placebo .  Supplementation with alpha-tocopherol doubled the lipid-st and ardized plasma vitamin E concentration to 63.7 + /- 14.5 mumol/L when compared with that of the control subjects ( 31.2 + /- 9.0 mumol/L ) before the operation . The plasma concentrations of vitamin C ( 36.0 + /- 19.0 mumol/L and 44.0 + /- 21.7 mumol/L , respectively ) and of the carotenoids were not statistically different between the two groups at baseline . The absolute plasma concentrations of both vitamin E and the carotenoids decreased during and after cardiopulmonary bypass , but after correction for hemodilution the plasma concentrations of vitamin E and the carotenoids showed no decrease . The vitamin E concentrations in the erythrocytes did not change either . In contrast , the plasma concentration of vitamin C decreased in all subjects within 24 hours after the operation by roughly 70 % . Correction for hemodilution still revealed a significant decrease in plasma vitamin C that persisted in most patients up to 2 weeks . In conclusion , the vitamin E and the carotenoid plasma concentrations are of no major concern during and after cardiac operations . In contrast , the serious depletion of vitamin C may deteriorate the defense against reactive oxygen species-induced injury during cardiac operations
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 .