Table 1. Clinical characteristics of patients at baseline.
| Characteristic |
Total (n=76) |
High-dose VitC (n=46) |
Standard therapy (n=30) |
P value |
| Disease severity — no. (%) | 0.609 | |||
| Moderate | 48 (63.2) | 28 (60.9) | 20 (66.6) | |
| Severe or critical | 28 (36.8) | 18 (39.1) | 10 (33.4) | |
| Age, median (IQR) — years | 61 (52-71) | 63 (54-71) | 57 (49-67) | 0.239 |
| Male sex — no. (%) | 35 (46.1) | 21 (45.7) | 14 (46.7) | 0.931 |
| Smoking history— no. (%) | 8 (10.5) | 5 (10.9) | 3 (10.0) | 0.904 |
| Coexisting condition — no. (%) | ||||
| Diabetes | 15 (19.7) | 11 (23.9) | 4 (13.3) | 0.257 |
| Hypertension | 22 (28.9) | 16 (34.8) | 6 (20.0) | 0.165 |
| Coronary heart disease | 5 (6.6) | 3 (6.5) | 2 (6.7) | 0.980 |
| Underlying lung disease | 6 (7.9) | 4 (8.7) | 2 (6.7) | 0.748 |
| Chronic liver disease | 4 (5.3) | 3 (6.5) | 1 (3.3) | 0.543 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 2 (2.6) | 2 (4.3) | 0 | 0.247 |
| Systolic blood pressure, median (IQR) — mmHg | 130 (112-141) | 127 (112-139) | 132 (121-144) | 0.532 |
| Duration of symptoms before therapy, median (IQR) — days | 12 (8-16) | 13 (8-20) | 10 (8-12) | 0.180 |
| Oxygen support category — no. (%) | 0.921 | |||
| Low-flow oxygen | 36 (47.4) | 22 (47.8) | 14 (46.7) | |
| High-flow oxygen or noninvasive positive pressure ventilation | 40 (52.6) | 24 (52.2) | 16 (53.3) | |
| Treatment | ||||
| Antiviral therapy | 72 (94.7) | 42 (91.3) | 30 (100.0) | 0.097 |
| Antibiotic therapy | 70 (92.1) | 43 (93.5) | 27 (90.0) | 0.583 |
| Corticosteroids | 28 (36.8) | 15 (32.6) | 13 (43.3) | 0.343 |
| Gamma globulin | 23 (30.3) | 13 (28.3) | 10 (33.3) | 0.638 |
| Statins | 14 (18.4) | 10 (21.7) | 4 (13.3) | 0.355 |
IQR: interquartile range, VitC: vitamin C.