High-Dose Ascorbic Acid Therapy

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Abstract
To the Editor.— A potentially serious sequel to high-dose ascorbic acid therapy is possible. A patient of mine in her 40's with sickle cell thalassemia managed to get through her life with few crises until this year, when it appeared that every minor illness precipitated a sickle cell crisis worthy of her hospitalization. She recently asked advice about a developing cold. I gave the usual recommendations, and casually mentioned that she should not use high doses of ascorbic acid. I was surprised to hear that prior to each recent crisis she had administered just such doses to "ward off symptoms." The theoretical implications seem obvious now. I have been unwilling to test my hypothesis by administering ascorbic acid to the patient, but she has had no further crises since avoiding this therapy.

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