Antioxidants Increase Survival Rate Among Trauma Patients

Giving antioxidants to severely injured trauma patients significantly increases their chances of survival, according to a study at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee.

Bryan A. Cotton, MD, and his colleagues treated 2,272 trauma patients with surgery and medications, plus antioxidants for either seven days or until being discharged from the hospital (whichever came first). He and his colleagues compared their responses to 2,022 trauma patients treated with surgery and medications during the previous year.

The antioxidant protocol consisted of 1,000 mg of vitamin C given intravenously every eight hours, 200 mcg of selenium given intravenously every day, and 1,000 IU of vitamin E administered through either a naso- or orogastric tube every eight hours.

Overall, patients receiving antioxidants had a 28 percent lower risk of dying while hospitalized. However, patients with only a 50 percent chance of survival benefited the most. The antioxidants improved their odds of surviving by 76 percent, compared with similar patients who had not received antioxidants.

The antioxidants also led to shorter stays in the intensive care unit and shorter hospitalizations.

Cotton wrote that critically injured trauma patients have high levels of free radicals and low levels of antioxidants, a combination that increases the odds of multiorgan failure and death.

He also noted the tremendous cost savings from antioxidants. “The hospital cost per patient (7-day course) for this regimen is $11.00. Any outcome improvement...would demonstrate a significant cost savings...” Cotton wrote.

Reference: Collier BR, Giladi A, Dossett LA, et al. Impact of high-dose antioxidants on outcomes in acutely injured patients. Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, 2008;32:383-388.