Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of participants randomised to vitamin C or placebo.
| Characteristics | Vitamin C (n = 36) | Placebo (n = 39) | Total (N = 75) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | |||
| Age years, median (IQR) | 74.5 (70, 83) | 78.0 (70, 83) | 76.0 (70, 83) |
| Female | 21 (58%) | 22 (56%) | 32 (43%) |
| Ethnicity | |||
| European | 33 (92%) | 35 (90%) | 68 (91%) |
| Maori | 1 (3%) | 1 (3%) | 2 (3%) |
| Pacific | 0 (0%) | 1 (3%) | 1 (1%) |
| Asian | 1 (3%) | 2 (5%) | 3 (4%) |
| MELAA | 1 (3%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (1%) |
| Smoking status | |||
| Never | 11 (31%) | 14 (36%) | 25 (33%) |
| Past smoker | 20 (56%) | 18 (46%) | 38 (51%) |
| Current smoker | 3 (8%) | 4 (10%) | 7 (9%) |
| Unknown | 2 (6%) | 3 (8%) | 5 (7%) |
| Consume alcohol weekly | 15 (48%) | 12 (40%) | 27 (44%) |
| Co morbidities | |||
| COPD | 9 (26%) | 13 (36%) | 22 (31%) |
| History of chronic bronchitis, emphysema, bronchiectasis or cystic fibrosis | 8 (22%) | 11 (28%) | 19 (25%) |
| Asthma | 7 (21%) | 9 (25%) | 16 (23%) |
| Previous pneumonia | 5 (15%) | 8 (24%) | 13 (19%) |
| Heart failure | 3 (9%) | 6 (17%) | 9 (13%) |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 5 (15%) | 3 (9%) | 8 (12%) |
| Renal disease | 1 (3%) | 3 (8%) | 4 (6%) |
| Liver disease | 1 (3%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (1%) |
| Diabetes | 5 (14%) | 8 (22%) | 13 (18%) |
| Immune Suppression | 1 (3%) | 2 (6%) | 3 (4%) |
| Other | 4 (11%) | 4 (11%) | 8 (11%) |
| Antimicrobial therapy prior to admission | |||
| Yes | 5 (14%) | 10 (26%) | 15 (20%) |
| No | 26 (74%) | 26 (67%) | 52 (70%) |
| Don’t know/not available | 4 (11%) | 3 (8%) | 7 (9%) |
| Severity on admission | |||
| CURB65 score, median (IQR) | 2 (2, 3) | 3 (2, 3) | 2 (2, 3) |
| 2 | 19 (53%) | 19 (49%) | 38 (51%) |
| 3 | 14 (39%) | 14 (36%) | 28 (37%) |
| 4 | 3 (8%) | 6 (15%) | 9 (12%) |
| Investigations at baseline | |||
| Lobar consolidation | 28 (80%) | 28 (74%) | 59 (77%) |
| Multilobar consolidation | 7 (20%) | 9 (24%) | 16 (22%) |
| Pleural effusion | 4 (11%) | 7 (18%) | 11 (15%) |
| CRP mg/L, median (IQR)a | 130 (56–264) | 158 (62–97) | 148 (59–279) |
| Procalcitonin µg/L median (IQR) | 0.34 (0.15–1.48) | 0.421 (0.15–2.7) | 0.41 (0.15–1.63 |
| Creatinine µmol/L, median (IQR) | 97 (83–110) | 111 (89–19) | 101 (89–19) |
| Estimated glomerular filtration rate mls/second, median IQR) | 59 (46–69) | 52 (45–60) | 54 (45–66)) |
| Haemoglobin concentration g/L, median (IQR)b | 128 (118–135) | 127 (118–139) | 128 (119–137) |
| Total white blood count × 109/L, median (IQR)b | 14 (11–19) | 12 (9.3–16) | 13 (10–17) |
| Neutrophil count, × 109/L, median (IQR)b | 12 (8.1–16) | 11 (7.3–14) | 11 (7.7–15) |
| Microbiological diagnoses | |||
| Legionella species | 7* | 6** | 13 (17%) |
| Streptococcus pneumoniae | 2 | 3 | 5 (7%) |
| Other | Mycoplasma pneumoniae (1), Alpha haemolytic streptococcus (1) | Influenza A (1), Pneumocystis jiroveci (1) | |
| No microorganism identified | 25 (69%) | 28 (72%) | 53 (71%) |
aData missing for two participants in the vitamin C group.
bData missing for one participant in the vitamin C group. * L. longbeachae 5, L pneumophila 2, ** L. longbeachae 5, L micdadei 1.
MELAA Middle Eastern, Latin American, African.