Evidence-Based Evaluation of Vitamin C and D in the Treatment and Prevention of Acute Viral Respiratory Infectious Disease

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the evidence supporting vitamin C and D medication in the treatment and prevention of acute viral respiratory infectious disease, and to provide evidence for clinical rational medication and potential treatment option for COVID-19 especially METHODS: PubMed database was retrieved from inception to February 13, 2020, and the references in the reviews and those not included in the database were manually retrieved RESULTS: Eight literatures were included finally In terms of COVID-19, MERS, and SARS, none literature about vitamin C and D medication was available In terms of influenza, one prospective controlled trial proved vitamin C's efficacy For vitamin D in influenza, one systematic review and one randomized controlled trial proved its efficacy, while three randomized controlled trials showed no efficacy Additionally, one case-control study showed no statistical association between vitamin D level and the risk of influenza, and one randomized controlled trial showed no significant difference between high-dose and standard-dose vitamin D supplementation CONCLUSION: Currently, no evidence supports the effectiveness of vitamin C and D medication in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, MERS and SARS However, limited evidence supports potential benefit of vitamin C and D medication in influenza Physicians and pharmacists should take relevant clinical practice guidelines and supporting evidence into consideration when using vitamin C or D (especially high-dose medication), and pay attention to monitoring drug adverse reactions and drug interactions