Influence of early antioxidant supplements on clinical evolution and organ function in critically ill cardiac surgery, major trauma, and subarachnoid hemorrhage patients

What this study found

Overall, early antioxidant micronutrient supplementation did not significantly improve early organ dysfunction or renal outcomes. Acute kidney injury occurred in 30 patients in the AOX group versus 36 in placebo, P = 0.11, and ventilator-free days were similar overall and within diagnostic subgroups. The intervention did blunt inflammation, with lower C-reactive protein over time, and was associated with a shorter hospital stay in trauma patients. Mortality and adverse events did not differ between groups, including ICU deaths 7% versus 9.7%, in-hospital deaths 11.5% versus 10.6%, and…

Study & population

Critically ill ICU patients with organ failure after complicated cardiac surgery, major trauma, or subarachnoid hemorrhage were compared between an antioxidant micronutrient group and a placebo group.

Intervention

An intravenous antioxidant micronutrient regimen was started within 24 hours of ICU admission and given for 5 days.

Key limitation

The treatment period was short at 5 days, and the population was heterogeneous across cardiac surgery, trauma, and subarachnoid hemorrhage patients.

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