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To find the answer to this question we searched the medical database online and we found that Padhani ZA, Moazzam Z, Ashraf A, Bilal H, Salam RA, Das JK, Bhutta ZA conducted Vitamin C supplementation for prevention and treatment of pneumonia systematic review for Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2021, which was published in issue 11. Art. No.: CD013134. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD013134.pub3 and was Accessed 28 November 2021.
This study analyzed the available data and highlighted the following :
Vitamin C supplementation for prevention and treatment of pneumonia
Review question
What is the role of vitamin C supplementation in the prevention and treatment of pneumonia in adults and children compared to no supplementation?
Background
Pneumonia is a chest infection caused by viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Vitamin C has a role in the immune system, therefore supplementation could be important in preventing and treating pneumonia amongst children and adults. We assessed the role of vitamin C in the prevention and treatment of pneumonia.
Search date
We searched for evidence up to 4 March 2020.
Study characteristics
We included five studies and two ongoing studies. The five included studies involved a total of 2655 participants and were conducted in one high‐income country (USA) and two lower‐middle‐income countries (Bangladesh and Pakistan). Three studies were conducted in hospital settings, one in schools, and one at a military training center. Three studies included children under five years of age, one school‐aged child, and one adult participant. Two studies assessed the effect of vitamin C supplementation for pneumonia prevention, and three studies assessed the effect of vitamin C supplementation in pneumonia treatment. The doses of vitamin C supplementation used were 125 mg, 200 mg, 1 g and 2 g.
Study funding sources
Two studies were funded by pharmaceutical companies. Three studies did not report funding sources.
Key results
We assessed the rate of pneumonia (incidence), how common pneumonia is (prevalence), numbers of deaths from pneumonia (mortality), and unintended and harmful outcomes (adverse effects) associated with vitamin C for preventing pneumonia. Only one study (674 participants) reported incidence, and one study reported one adverse effect (hives) associated with vitamin C for preventing pneumonia. No study reported on prevalence or mortality. Evidence was insufficient to determine the effect of vitamin C in preventing pneumonia.
We also assessed how long people were ill (duration of illness), how many people were cured, mortality, and adverse effects associated with the use of vitamin C as a treatment for pneumonia. Only one study reported the duration of illness. No studies reported cure rates or adverse effects. Evidence was insufficient to determine the effect of vitamin C for treating pneumonia.
Certainty of the evidence
We judged the included studies to be at an overall high or unclear risk of bias. The evidence certainty was very low due to study limitations, variations amongst the studies, small sample sizes and uncertainty of estimates.
