Scurvy in an alcoholic patient treated with intravenous vitamins

Vitamin C deficiency is rare in developed countries but there is an increased prevalence in chronic alcohol abusers. In the UK, it is common practice to treat patients with chronic alcoholism who are admitted to hospital with intravenous vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6 and C for 2-3 days, followed by oral thiamine and vitamin B-compound tablets. This is a case of a 57-year-old man with a history of chronic alcoholism and chronic obstructive lung disease who was admitted to the intensive care unit for pneumonia requiring ventilatory support. He was given high doses of intravenous vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6 and C for 3 days then oral thiamine and vitamin B compound tablets but developed scurvy 4 days later. He was restarted on oral vitamin C supplementation and showed signs of improvement within 3 days of treatment.