Effect of oral L-Glutamine supplementation on Covid-19 treatment

Summary Objectives The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of oral L-Glutamine supplementation on hospitalization time, need for intensive care unit and Coronavirus Disease-19 (Covid-19) mortality. Methods The study included 30 Covid-19 patients using L-Glutamine and 30 Covid-19 patients who did not use L-Glutamine with similar age, gender and clinical status. Diagnostic tests, laboratory examinations, clinical findings and computed thorax tomography imaging of the patients were evaluated. Results Hospitalization time was 10.4 ± 1.9 days in Covid-19 without L-Glutamine group and 8.9 ± 1.8 days in Covid-19 with L-Glutamine group (p = 0.005). In Covid-19 without the L-Glutamine group, the requirement of the intensive care unit was significantly higher (p = 0.038). Conclusions In Covid-19 cases, nutritional assessments of patients should not be overlooked in addition to the currently used treatments. Some nutritional supplements provide immune nutritional support by inhibition of inflammatory responses and regulation of immune functions in infectious diseases. Larger-scale studies are needed on L-Glutamine, which is added to normal nutrition in the early period of infection, may lead to shortened hospital stay and lead to less need for intensive care.