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Trial registered on ANZCTR
Registration number
ACTRN12617001184369
Ethics application status
Approved
Date submitted
8/08/2017
Date registered
11/08/2017
Date last updated
4/10/2022
Date data sharing statement initially provided
19/06/2019
Date results provided
4/10/2022
Type of registration
Prospectively registered
Titles & IDs
Public title
Vitamin C administration in severe sepsis
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Scientific title
Vitamin C administration in severe sepsis: a pilot randomised controlled trial of vasopressor requirements
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Secondary ID [1]
292607
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None
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Universal Trial Number (UTN)
UTN: U1111-1186-1269
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Trial acronym
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Linked study record
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Health condition
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied:
Sepsis
304285
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Condition category
Condition code
Infection
303632
303632
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0
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Studies of infection and infectious agents
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Intervention/exposure
Study type
Interventional
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Description of intervention(s) / exposure
Vitamin C (ASCOR L500)
Dose: 25 mg/kg/6h (total: 100 mg/kg/d)
Duration: 4 days
Mode: intravenous infusion
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Intervention code [1]
298818
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Treatment: Drugs
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Comparator / control treatment
Placebo (D5W) infusion
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Control group
Placebo
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Outcomes
Primary outcome [1]
302989
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Norepinephrine dose requirement
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Assessment method [1]
302989
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Timepoint [1]
302989
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Daily for 4 days
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Primary outcome [2]
303028
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Duration of norepinephrine administration
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Assessment method [2]
303028
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Timepoint [2]
303028
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Up to 4 days
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Secondary outcome [1]
337638
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Plasma vitamin C concentrations
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Assessment method [1]
337638
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Timepoint [1]
337638
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Daily for 4 days
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Secondary outcome [2]
337639
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Vasopressin requirements
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Assessment method [2]
337639
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Timepoint [2]
337639
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Daily for 4 days
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Secondary outcome [3]
337640
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Inflammatory biomarker concentrations (plasma CRP)
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Assessment method [3]
337640
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Timepoint [3]
337640
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Daily for 4 days
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Secondary outcome [4]
337641
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Illness severity (SOFA scores)
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Assessment method [4]
337641
0
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Timepoint [4]
337641
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Daily for 4 days
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Secondary outcome [5]
337642
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Mortality (hospital)
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Assessment method [5]
337642
0
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Timepoint [5]
337642
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Up to 90 days
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Secondary outcome [6]
337643
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Length of stay (hospital)
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Assessment method [6]
337643
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Timepoint [6]
337643
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censored at day 28
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Secondary outcome [7]
337719
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Urinary vitamin C concentrations
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Assessment method [7]
337719
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Timepoint [7]
337719
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Daily for 4 days
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Eligibility
Key inclusion criteria
1. Receiving IV antimicrobial therapy specifically for infection
2. Receiving >/=5 µg/min (>/=0.06 µg/kg/min) noradrenaline/adrenaline
3. Evidence of organ dysfunction - SOFA >/= 2 for at least ONE of:
respiratory system (PaO2/FiO2 < 300)
liver (bilirubin >33)
coagulation (platelets <100)
renal system (creatinine >171)
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Minimum age
18
Years
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Maximum age
No limit
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Sex
Both males and females
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Can healthy volunteers participate?
No
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Key exclusion criteria
1. Age < 18 years
2. Consent cannot be obtained
3. Patient not expected to survive 24 hours
4. Known glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency
5. Known or suspected pregnancy or breastfeeding
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Study design
Purpose of the study
Treatment
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Allocation to intervention
Randomised controlled trial
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Procedure for enrolling a subject and allocating the treatment (allocation concealment procedures)
sealed opaque envelopes
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Methods used to generate the sequence in which subjects will be randomised (sequence generation)
computerised sequence generation
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Masking / blinding
Blinded (masking used)
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Who is / are masked / blinded?
The people receiving the treatment/s
The people administering the treatment/s
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Intervention assignment
Parallel
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Other design features
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Phase
Phase 1 / Phase 2
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Type of endpoint/s
Safety/efficacy
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Statistical methods / analysis
Sample size calculations based on the vitamin C-dependent decreases in norepinephrine dose and duration from Zabet et al (J Res Pharm Pract, 2016) indicate that a total of 36 participants (18 per group) will have a power of 95% to detect a difference of 22 hours norepinephrine duration or a difference of 6 µg/min norepinephrine dose with 5% type 1 error. Therefore, a total of 40 participants will be enrolled to account for an anticipated 10% loss due to withdrawal of consent to continue.
The primary analysis will be as intention-to-treat principle followed by a per-protocol analysis of patients fully complying with the trial protocol. For the primary endpoint, an unadjusted hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) using Cox proportional hazards regression based on a binary outcome of achieving or not achieving relevant clinical outcome will be calculated. As a sensitivity analysis, the primary analysis will be repeated on the per-protocol population. As a further sensitivity analysis, multivariable Cox proportional hazard models will be fitted with treatment group and potential confounders of patient age and APACHE scores included as independent variables. Subgroup analyses (e.g. patient age, initial CRP concentration) will be included as interaction terms in a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model. Multivariate analyses will include stratification of outcomes by vitamin C levels on admission to determine whether there is a benefit to all patients regardless of baseline vitamin C and severity of sepsis. Potential interactions will also be examined with age, severity and comorbidities. For all secondary endpoints, unadjusted and adjusted (for patient age and APACHE score) estimates of the effect size and corresponding 95% CIs using linear, logistic, or Cox proportional hazards regression (as appropriate) will be performed. For all time-to-event analyses of secondary endpoints, patients lost to follow-up will be censored at the time of lost contact. For all other analyses of secondary outcomes complete case analyses will be used. All reported CIs will be two-sided 95% intervals, and tests will be done at the two-sided 5% significance level. We use will use the R language for statistical computing for all analyses.
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Recruitment
Recruitment status
Completed
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Date of first participant enrolment
Anticipated
2/10/2017
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Actual
16/05/2018
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Date of last participant enrolment
Anticipated
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Actual
8/06/2020
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Date of last data collection
Anticipated
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Actual
2/09/2020
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Sample size
Target
40
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Accrual to date
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Final
40
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Recruitment outside Australia
Country [1]
9135
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New Zealand
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State/province [1]
9135
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Canterbury
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Funding & Sponsors
Funding source category [1]
297193
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Government body
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Name [1]
297193
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Health Research Council of New Zealand
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Address [1]
297193
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PO Box 5541, Wellesley Street, Auckland 1141
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Country [1]
297193
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New Zealand
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Funding source category [2]
297206
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Charities/Societies/Foundations
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Name [2]
297206
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Canterbury Medical Research Foundation
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Address [2]
297206
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Level 1/230 Antigua Street, Christchurch 8011
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Country [2]
297206
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New Zealand
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Primary sponsor type
Individual
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Name
Dr Anitra Carr
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Address
Department of Pathology, University of Otago, Christchurch, PO Box 4345, Christchurch 8140
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Country
New Zealand
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Secondary sponsor category [1]
296214
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None
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Name [1]
296214
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Address [1]
296214
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Country [1]
296214
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Other collaborator category [1]
279668
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Individual
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Name [1]
279668
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Prof Geoff Shaw
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Address [1]
279668
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Department of Intensive Care, Christchurch Hospital, Private Bag 4710, Christchurch 8140
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Country [1]
279668
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New Zealand
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Ethics approval
Ethics application status
Approved
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Ethics committee name [1]
298350
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Northern A Health and Disability Ethics Committee
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Ethics committee address [1]
298350
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Ministry of Health, Health and Disability Ethics Committees, PO Box 5013, Wellington 6140
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Ethics committee country [1]
298350
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New Zealand
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Date submitted for ethics approval [1]
298350
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30/11/2016
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Approval date [1]
298350
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02/05/2017
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Ethics approval number [1]
298350
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16/NTA/238
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Summary
Brief summary
Sepsis is a major health problem worldwide and in New Zealand. Despite a massive effort in recent years to develop therapies, none has as yet proven successful in reducing mortality in patients with sepsis, which currently remains the leading cause of death in most intensive care units. Studies indicate that critically ill patients, including those with sepsis, exhibit very low vitamin C levels compared to healthy people. Furthermore, recent preclinical trials and clinical studies indicate a potential role for vitamin C in decreasing inflammation, vasopressor requirements, and multiple organ failure, and improving outcomes in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock, including decreased mortality. Our study will be a double blind randomised placebo controlled trial to test the efficacy of intravenous (IV) vitamin C administration in patients with severe sepsis, with a specific focus on vasopressor requirements. Participants with severe sepsis will be recruited after being admitted to the Christchurch Hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Forty participants will be randomised into two groups: IV vitamin C (100 mg/kg body weight/day) or IV placebo (1:1 ratio) for a duration of 4 days. Blood and urine samples will be collected daily from patients to measure vitamin C levels along with selected biomarkers of inflammation and organ function. The analyses of these biomarkers, which relate to the severity of sepsis, will determine whether levels are changed in patients who receive the intervention. Clinical outcomes will also be monitored; we hypothesise that the patients who receive vitamin C will have improved outcomes.
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Trial website
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Trial related presentations / publications
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Public notes
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Contacts
Principal investigator
Name
76802
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Dr Anitra Carr
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Address
76802
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Department of Pathology, University of Otago, Christchurch, PO Box 4345, Christchurch 8140
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Country
76802
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New Zealand
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Phone
76802
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+643 364 0649
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Fax
76802
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Email
76802
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[email protected]
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Contact person for public queries
Name
76803
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Anitra Carr
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Address
76803
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Department of Pathology, University of Otago, Christchurch, PO Box 4345, Christchurch 8140
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Country
76803
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New Zealand
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Phone
76803
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+643 364 0649
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Fax
76803
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Email
76803
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[email protected]
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Contact person for scientific queries
Name
76804
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Anitra Carr
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Address
76804
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Department of Pathology, University of Otago, Christchurch, PO Box 4345, Christchurch 8140
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Country
76804
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New Zealand
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Phone
76804
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+643 364 0649
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Fax
76804
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Email
76804
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[email protected]
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Data sharing statement
Will individual participant data (IPD) for this trial be available (including data dictionaries)?
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No/undecided IPD sharing reason/comment
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What supporting documents are/will be available?
No Supporting Document Provided
Results publications and other study-related documents
Documents added manually
No documents have been uploaded by study researchers.
Documents added automatically
Source
Title
Year of Publication
DOI
Embase
Circulating protein carbonyls are specifically elevated in critically ill patients with pneumonia relative to other sources of sepsis.
2022
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2021.11.029
Embase
Critically ill septic patients have elevated oxidative stress biomarkers: lack of attenuation by parenteral vitamin C.
2022
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nutres.2022.10.010
Embase
Intravenous vitamin C administration to patients with septic shock: a pilot randomised controlled trial.
2022
https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13054-022-03900-w
N.B. These documents automatically identified may not have been verified by the study sponsor.
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