Is the Use of Supplemental Vitamin C and Zinc for the Prevention & Treatment of Pressure Ulcers Evidence-Based?

Annals of Long Term Care

Volume 18 - Issue 3 - March 2010

Namirah Jamshed, MD, and Edward L. Schneider, MD

 

Our Recommendations

Guidelines from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ),52 American Medical Directors Association,5 and the Consortium for Spinal Cord Medicine54 all recommend nutritional support for the prevention and healing of pressure ulcers. The AHRQ guidelines recommend that patients with pressure ulcers should first be assessed for nutritional deficiencies. Nutritional support should then be based on these deficiencies and individualized for each patient.52

Therefore, routine vitamin C and zinc supplementation in pressure ulcers is not indicated. A Cochrane review in 2003, updated in 2008, showed conflicting data on vitamin C and zinc supplementation in pressure ulcers.43 So far, no consistent acceleration in wound healing has been reported with vitamin C or zinc supplementation in patients with pressure ulcers.

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