Vitamin C: Rationale for Its Use in Sepsis-Induced Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a life-threatening event that occurs in patients suffering from bacterial, fungal, or viral sepsis. Research performed over the last five decades showed that ARDS is a consequence of severe unrestrained systemic inflammation, which leads to injury of the lung's microvasculature and alveolar epithelium. ARDS leads to acute hypoxic/hypercapnic respiratory failure and death in a significant number of patients hospitalized in intensive care units worldwide. Basic and clinical research performed during the time since ARDS was first described has been unable to construct a pharmacological agent that will combat the inflammatory fire leading to ARDS. In-depth studies of the molecular pharmacology of vitamin C indicate that it can serve as a potent anti-inflammatory agent capable of attenuating the pathobiological events that lead to acute injury of the lungs and other body organs. This analysis of vitamin C's role in the treatment of ARDS includes a focused systematic review of the literature relevant to the molecular physiology of vitamin C and to the past performance of clinical trials using the agent.