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Case Reports
. 2018 Nov 21:11:1178638818809097.
doi: 10.1177/1178638818809097. eCollection 2018.

Scurvy is Back

Claire Ann Callus  1 , Samantha Vella  1 , Peter Ferry  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Scurvy is Back

Claire Ann Callus et al. Nutr Metab Insights. .

Abstract

Background and objective: Scurvy, caused by vitamin C deficiency, first described by Hippocrates, is known to many as 'The Pirates' Disease'. Although a disease rarely acknowledged in modern medicine, we present 2 cases of elderly gentlemen found to have scurvy, who improved significantly on treatment.

Methods: This study presents a case report of 2 patients undergoing rehabilitation at Karin Grech Hospital in Malta, noted to have signs and symptoms of vitamin C deficiency. Vitamin C levels were found to be low and thus supplementation was administered.

Results: After a few weeks, a significant improvement was noted in level of frailty, mood, bleeding tendency, and gum health.

Conclusions: The modern doctor must keep this ancient disease in mind, as it presents insidiously with debilitating repercussions, particularly in older people who are at a higher risk. It is easily treatable once detected.

Keywords: Vitamin C; ascorbic acid; nutritional deficiency malnutrition; scurvy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests:The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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