Serum Zinc Level in Critically Pediatric Septic Patients: A prospective case-control study.

Document Type : Original Article

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1 Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt.

2 Department of clinical pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt.

Abstract

Background:Zinc is a necessary trace element that is crucial for numerous vital biological processes. Children in developing countries frequently have zinc shortage; nevertheless, there is conflicting evidence regarding whether the variation in zinc metabolism is a reliable indicator of the severity of a disease when a patient is in the setting of critical illness. Objective: The study aimed to estimate the serum zinc level in critically ill children and to investigate its immunomodulatory effect . Methods: A prospective case-control study was conducted on 100 consecutively selected critically ill patients aged 1month-13yrs subdivided into 50 cases(whose PRISM score>5) and 50controls (whose PRISMIII score<5).All were subjected to physical examination, nutritional assessment, laboratory investigation- complete blood count, C-reactive protein, serum albumin, serum zinc level- and outcomes. Results: The study yielded a significant difference between both groups regarding albumin (P < 0.0001) and serum zinc level (P < 0.0001). Moreover, there was a significant positive correlation between the serum zinc level, the absolute lymphocytic count (r = 0.460), and the serum albumin (r = 0.445) and a statistically significant negative correlation between the serum zinc level, CRP (r = -0.378,) and PRISM III score (r = -0.496). The sensitivity and specificity of using the serum Zinc of 70.6 μg/dL as a cut-off value to predict susceptibility to sepsis were 90.2% and 59.2%, respectively. Conclusion children with normal zinc levels have a decreased risk of acquiring sepsis, compared to zinc-deficient children.

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