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%) |
