Vitamin C could be a cost-effective way to reduce the time that patients spend in intensive care. This was the conclusion of a recent analysis of evidence from published trials.

Dr. Harri Hemilä of the University of Helsinki in Finland and Dr. Elizabeth Chalker of the University of Sydney in Australia have written a study paper that features in the journal Nutrients in which they explain how they found the "statistically highly significant evidence" that led to their conclusion. A pooled analysis of data from a dozen trials found that giving patients vitamin C reduced time spent in the intensive care unit (ICU) by an average of 8 percent. The authors are not claiming that the evidence is enough to justify changes to ICU practice. They do, however, maintain that their findings serve as "proof of concept" and call for further research to investigate the effect of vitamin C on ICU patients. "In further studies," they write, "the dose-re