A combination of vitamin C, thiamine and hydrocortisone, previously thought to be a promising treatment option for sepsis, did not improve patient outcomes in a study recently published in JAMA.
It's the third randomized clinical trial that did not find the treatment to improve patient outcomes for septic shock, NPR reports.
In 2017, research led by Paul Marik, MD, indicated the combination treatment had exceptional results at reducing the death risk of patients in septic shock.
Since then, researchers have been hopeful, putting the treatment to the test. The latest study, published Feb. 23, included 501 patients across 43 intensive care units at U.S. hospitals and found the intravenous treatment failed to improve patient outcomes.
It's the largest study yet to evaluate the efficacy of the treatment, according to NPR.
Participants were divided into two groups: 252 received the combination treatment every six hours, while 249 were given a placebo.
Results showed there was no significant difference in the amount of ventilation and number of vasopressor-free days between patients who received the treatment and those who were given the placebo. The same was true for 30-day mortality, which was 22 percent among those who received the treatment and 24 percent for those who did not.
The randomized clinical trial was expected to include 2,000 patients but was terminated early after 501 patients were enrolled, the study acknowledged.
"We can say with some confidence that if there were such a large effect, we would have seen that in our patients," Jonathan Sevransky, MD, study author, told NPR.
Dr. Sevransky added that one more large study of the treatment is being conducted in Canada.
To view the full study, click here.
To read the NPR story, click here.