17 critically ill patients from Wuhan, China were recruited from February - March 2020. They participated in a randomized, single-blind, group sequential, active-controlled trial to tests the effects of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) could ameliorate inflammation, reduce reactive oxygen species (ROS), and improve organ function in COVID-19. Patients in the treatment group were given 1200 mg/d intravenous ALA once daily on top of their existing treatment, and they were given ALA treatment for 7 additional days beyond standard medical care. After 30 days, the all-cause mortality rate in the control group was 77.8% (7/9) whereas it was 37.5% (3/8) in the treatment group. While a decrease was observed, the results were not significant (p=0.09) due to a limited sample size.