Is the VITAMINS RCT indicating potential redundancy between corticosteroids and vitamin C?

Excerpt

Since the publication of the retrospective before and after study by Dr. Marik and colleagues, in which administration of hydrocortisone, intravenous (IV) vitamin C, and thiamine was indicated to provide a survival advantage in septic patients [1], there has been a prevalence of clinical trials of variable quality and subsequent meta-analyses indicating variable outcomes [2]. Unlike previous combination trials, which did not control for corticosteroid use in the control arm, the recently published VITAMINS randomized clinical trial standardized corticosteroid administration in the control arm to determine if IV vitamin C and thiamine could provide an additional survival advantage over hydrocortisone alone [3]. This trial showed no benefit of the combination of hydrocortisone, IV vitamin C, and thiamine in comparison to hydrocortisone alone. …