Scientific articleTesting the Validity of Preventing Complex Regional Pain Syndrome With Vitamin C After Distal Radius Fracture
Section snippets
Literature search
The authors searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and SCOPUS databases for relevant articles using the keywords “vitamin C” or “ascorbic acid” and “complex regional pain syndrome” or “reflex sympathetic dystrophy.” An experienced MPH researcher (S.M.) performed the search, with support from the university medical librarians. Affected condition was not limited to DRF alone, but included other conditions for which vitamin C was used to prevent CRPS development. We did not use any limit on the language of
Literature search
We obtained 225 articles from 3 databases searched. We performed title and abstract search after the exclusion of duplicates. We excluded all unrelated articles, editorial letters, and commentaries. Four studies and 1 systematic review related to the use of vitamin C and CRPS were available for final review. Among the 4 studies, 3 were conducted in DRF patients and 1 was conducted in patients undergoing foot and ankle surgery.8, 19, 20, 21 We included the foot and ankle surgery article to add
Discussion
We tested our hypothesis that there was not enough evidence for AAOS recommendation of vitamin C as a prophylactic against CRPS occurrence. Our analysis of studies showed that 6 of the 9 Hill criteria were met.14 Therefore, we rejected our hypothesis. There were a few caveats in the methodology and conduct of the included studies. In addition, criteria like biological plausibility, specificity, and coherence were not met. However, technological advancements may present new findings that will
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No benefits in any form have been received or will be received related directly or indirectly to the subject of this article.
Research reported in this publication was supported in part by grants from the National Institute on Aging and National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (R01 AR062066), the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (2R01 AR047328-06), and a Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (2K24 AR053120-06) (to K.C.C.).
This content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.