Due to the small number of included studies and very low quality of the existing evidence , we are uncertain of the effect of vitamin C supplementation for the prevention and treatment of pneumonia .
BACKGROUND According to the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015 , lower respiratory tract infection is the leading cause of infectious disease death , and the fifth most common cause of death overall .
Vitamin C has a role in modulating resistance to infectious agents , therefore vitamin C supplementation may be important in preventing and treating pneumonia .
OBJECTIVES To assess the impact of vitamin C supplementation to prevent and treat pneumonia in children and adults .
Antioxidant vitamins E and C as adjunct therapy of severe acute lower-respiratory infection in infants and young children: a randomized controlled trial
Objective : To evaluate the effect of antioxidant Vitamins E and C as adjunct therapy of severe acute lower respiratory infection ( ALRI ) in children . Design : R and omized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial . Setting : A large childrens ' hospital serving the urban poor in Kolkata , India . Subjects : Children aged 2–35 months admitted with severe ALRI.Intervention : In total , 174 children were r and omly assigned to receive α-tocopherol 200 mg and ascorbic acid 100 mg twice daily or placebo for 5 days . All children received st and ard treatment for severe ALRI . Outcome measures were : time taken to recover from a very ill status , fever , tachypnoea , and feeding difficulty ; and improvement in oxidative stress and immune response indicated by thiobarbituric acid reacting substances ( TBARS ) and response to skin antigens , respectively . Results : Recovery rate ratios ( 95 % CI ) using proportional hazards model were 0.89 ( 0.64–1.25 ) , 1.01 ( 0.72–1.41 ) , 0.86 ( 0.57–1.29 ) , and 1.12 ( 0.77–1.64 ) for very ill status , feeding difficulty , fever , and tachypnoea , respectively . TBARS values were high and similar in the two groups at admission , discharge , and at 2 weeks follow-up . Serum α-tocopherol significantly increased in treated group at discharge . Immune response to skin antigens were very poor at admission and after 2 weeks , in both groups . Conclusion : Infants with severe ALRI failed to benefit from two antioxidant nutrients as adjunct therapy . Severe ALRI in infants may cause cell-mediated immune dysfunction . We need a better underst and ing of oxidative processes in growing infants to help us better design interventions with antioxidant therapy
Due to the small number of included studies and very low quality of the existing evidence , we are uncertain of the effect of vitamin C supplementation for the prevention and treatment of pneumonia .
BACKGROUND According to the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015 , lower respiratory tract infection is the leading cause of infectious disease death , and the fifth most common cause of death overall .
Vitamin C has a role in modulating resistance to infectious agents , therefore vitamin C supplementation may be important in preventing and treating pneumonia .
OBJECTIVES To assess the impact of vitamin C supplementation to prevent and treat pneumonia in children and adults .