Vitamin C for preventing and treating tetanus

Hemilä, Harri; Koivula, TT

doi:10.1002/14651858.cd006665

Cited by 7 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…An early case report claimed that vitamin C was beneficial against tetanus in an unvaccinated six-year-old boy in the USA [ 128 ]. A Cochrane review identified one controlled trial in which the effect of vitamin C on tetanus patients was examined [ 129 , 130 ].…”

Section: Tetanusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vitamin C and Infections

2017

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In the early literature, vitamin C deficiency was associated with pneumonia. After its identification, a number of studies investigated the effects of vitamin C on diverse infections. A total of 148 animal studies indicated that vitamin C may alleviate or prevent infections caused by bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. The most extensively studied human infection is the common cold. Vitamin C administration does not decrease the average incidence of colds in the general population, yet it halved the number of colds in physically active people. Regularly administered vitamin C has shortened the duration of colds, indicating a biological effect. However, the role of vitamin C in common cold treatment is unclear. Two controlled trials found a statistically significant dose–response, for the duration of common cold symptoms, with up to 6–8 g/day of vitamin C. Thus, the negative findings of some therapeutic common cold studies might be explained by the low doses of 3–4 g/day of vitamin C. Three controlled trials found that vitamin C prevented pneumonia. Two controlled trials found a treatment benefit of vitamin C for pneumonia patients. One controlled trial reported treatment benefits for tetanus patients. The effects of vitamin C against infections should be investigated further.

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Section: Tetanusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vitamin C and Infections

2017

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“…Since the publication of Roper and colleagues’ Seminar in 2007,1 there have been only four randomised controlled trials of treatment in tetanus (three in adults78–80 and one in neonates81), involving a total of 190 patients, and there have been no trials of novel therapies or regimens. In the same period, two meta-analyses have been published, with one including only one study82 and the other including three,83 two of which were published after 2007. Research into effective treatments is hampered by the settings in which most tetanus occurs—often rural and remote, and in low or low-middle income countries with few resources—and the unwillingness of funding bodies to support research into a vaccine-preventable disease.…”

Section: Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal and neonatal tetanus

2015

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Maternal and neonatal tetanus are important causes of maternal and neonatal mortality, claiming about 180 000 lives worldwide every year, almost exclusively in developing countries. Although easily prevented by maternal immunisation with tetanus toxoid vaccine, and aseptic obstetric and postnatal umbilical-cord care practices, maternal and neonatal tetanus persist as public-health problems in 48 countries, mainly in Asia and Africa. Survival of tetanus patients has improved substantially for those treated in hospitals with modern intensive-care facilities; however, such facilities are often unavailable where the tetanus burden is highest. The Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination Initiative assists countries in which maternal and neonatal tetanus has not been eliminated to provide immunisation with tetanus toxoid to women of childbearing age. The ultimate goal of this initiative is the worldwide elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus. Since tetanus spores cannot be removed from the environment, sustaining elimination will require improvements to presently inadequate immunisation and health-service infrastructures, and universal access to those services. The renewed worldwide commitment to the reduction of maternal and child mortality, if translated into effective action, could help to provide the systemic changes needed for long-term elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus. Tetanus in the first 28 days of life (neonatal tetanus) was long recognised by clinicians in resource-poor settings as an important cause of neonatal death. However, since babies affected by this disease usually are born at home and die there without registration of either event, the true burden was unknown. In the 1970s and 1980s, community-based surveys about neonatal tetanus from more than 40 countries showed that fewer than 10% of tetanus-related cases and deaths were routinely reported in most countries: in some regions, the reporting fraction was as low as 2-5%.

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“…Finally, the reviewers also questioned the validity of very large survival benefits with ␤-agonists in threatened miscarriage, 22 different types of brachytherapies for stage I cervical cancer, 23 chaunxiong preparations to prevent stroke, 24 continuous vs intermittent infusion of loop diuretics in congestive heart failure, 25 and vitamin C in children with tetanus, 26 since their corresponding cumulative evidence was based on single small trials that were of very poor quality or (in the case of tetanus) apparently were not even a randomized controlled trial.…”

Section: Empirical Evaluation Of Very Large Treatment Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%