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Updated: Jan 18, 2026
Microfluidics in Assessing Platelet Function
Published on: November 8, 2024
Vitamin C Does Not Affect Platelet Counts in Patients With Sepsis: A Post hoc Analysis of the Lessening Organ
Mattia M Müller1, Ruxandra Pinto2,3, François Lamontagne4
1Institute of Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, ZH, Switzerland.
Objective:
Vitamin C has been linked to alterations in platelet count and aggregation behavior. Given recent findings suggesting an association between vitamin C and adverse outcomes in patients with septic shock, we aimed to investigate whether vitamin C influences mortality in septic patients through its impact on platelets.
Design:
Post hoc analysis of the Lessening Organ Dysfunction With Vitamin C (LOVIT) randomized trial (clinicaltrials.gov NCT03680274).
Setting:
Multicenter international study.
Patients:
Patients were included with an ICU stay of more than 24 hours, confirmed or suspected infection, vasopressor requirement, and availability of platelet count data.
Intervention:
Vitamin C (50 mg/kg body weight) every 6 hours for 4 days, or placebo.
Measurements And Main Results:
Of the 863 patients enrolled in the LOVIT trial, 859 had available platelet count data at any time. Although the longitudinal trajectory of platelet count was significantly associated with 28-day mortality (hazard ratio 0.97 per 10 × 109/L increase, 95% CI, 0.96-0.98), there was no interaction between the effect of vitamin C on mortality and either platelet count at baseline or over time.
Conclusions:
These results do not support the hypothesis that vitamin C administration increases mortality risk by affecting platelet count.
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