Trial reportEuropean geriatric medicine2022
Dietary nitrate supplementation for preventing and reducing the severity of winter infections, including COVID-19, in care homes (BEET-Winter): a randomised placebo-controlled feasibility trial.
Trial report in European geriatric medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prophylaxis against covid-19: living systematic review and network meta-analysis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2021Pooled it
- Dietary nitrate supplementation for preventing and reducing the severity of winter infections, including COVID-19, in care homes (BEET-Winter): a randomised placebo-controlled feasibility trial.European geriatric medicine · 2022Trial
- Lessons from the PROTECT-CH COVID-19 platform trial in care homes.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
17 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeInfections cause considerable care home morbidity and mortality. Nitric oxide (NO) has broad-spectrum anti-viral, bacterial and yeast activity in vitro. We assessed the feasibility of supplementing dietary nitrate (NO substrate) intake in care home residents.
methodsWe performed a cluster-randomised placebo-controlled trial in UK residential and nursing care home residents and compared nitrate containing (400 mg) versus free (0 mg daily) beetroot juice given for 60 days. Outcomes comprised feasibility of recruitment, adherence, salivary and urinary nitrate, and ordinal infection/clinical events.
resultsOf 30 targeted care homes in late 2020, 16 expressed interest and only 6 participated. 49 residents were recruited (median 8 [interquartile range 7-12] per home), mean (standard deviation) age 82 (8) years, with proxy consent 41 (84%), advance directive for hospital non-admission 8 (16%) and ≥ 1 doses of COVID-19 vaccine 37 (82%). Background dietary nitrate was < 30% of acceptable daily intake. 34 (76%) residents received > 50% of juice. Residents randomised to nitrate vs placebo had higher urinary nitrate levels, median 50 [18-175] v 18 [10-50] mg/L, difference 25 [0-90]. Data paucity precluded clinical between-group comparisons; the outcome distribution was as follows: no infection 32 (67%), uncomplicated infection 0, infection requiring healthcare support 11 (23%), all-cause hospitalisation 5 (10%), all-cause mortality 0. Urinary tract infections were most common.
conclusionsRecruiting UK care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic was partially successful. Supplemented dietary nitrate was tolerated and elevated urinary nitrate. Together, infections, hospitalisations and deaths occurred in 33% of residents over 60 days. A larger trial is now required.
trial registrationISRCTN51124684. Application date 7/12/2020; assignment date 13/1/2021.
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