title: High Dose Intraveneous Vitamin C and Chikungunya Fever: A Case Report.
abstract: The Chikungunya (CHIKV) fever is a viral disease produced by a single-stranded RNA Alphavirus from the Togaviridae genus. Its transmission occurs only through mosquito vectors, principally Aedes aegypti. It requires a human-mosquito-human transmission cycle. It is associated with severe arthritis/arthralgias, myalgias, high fever, headache, and maculopapular rash. Joint ache appears to be symmetrical. The virus has an incubation period of 2 to 7 days, where the high fever is typically presented. It is followed by arthralgias and myalgias, and rashes, which last for 3 to 5 days. However, the arthralgias can persist for months after the infection, which can contribute to severe arthritis. As of now, no vaccine exists for the virus and no official treatment has been developed aside from standard procedures of the use of acetaminophen (paracetamol), and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. This is a case report of a 54-year old Hispanic individual that reported left shoulder pain, left knee pain and fever. The symptoms started on a Saturday in September 2014 in middle of the night. The patient was treated with high doses of intravenous vitamin C over two days. The symptoms resolved after the infusions without any side effects. Based on the positive outcome in this case, we propose that intravenous vitamin C should be studied further as a potential treatment for acute viral infections.
authors.affiliation: University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, School of Public Health.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy.
authors.forename: Jorge R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Miranda-Massari
authors.affiliation: Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, Biology Department.
authors.forename: Miguel J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Berdiel
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Duconge
authors.affiliation: Ponce School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Joshua L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-López
authors.affiliation: Riordan Clinic.
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hunninghake
authors.affiliation: Rio Piedras Campus, Biology Department, Ponce School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Vicente J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Cobas-Rosario