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Received: 10 January 2018 Accepted: 30 April 2018 DOI: 10.1111/ijcp.13211
ORIG INAL PAPER
Low serum zinc level: The relationship with severe pneumonia and survival in critically ill children Nagwan Yossery Saleh | Wafaa Moustafa M. Abo El Fotoh Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University Hospital, Shebin El-Kom, Egypt Correspondence Wafaa Moustafa M. Abo El Fotoh, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University Hospital, Shebin El-Kom, Egypt. Email:
[email protected]
Summary Background: Zinc deficiency is common among children in developing countries; but, there is still conflicting evidence on whether the alteration in zinc metabolism is the predictive of disease severity in the setting of critical illness. Objectives: To assess serum zinc levels in children admitted with pneumonia, and also to study the relationship between zinc levels and severity and mortality from pneumonia. Methods: In a prospective cohort study, we enrolled 320 critically ill children admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) with severe pneumonia (group 1) in addition to 160 children admitted into wards with pneumonia (group 2). Serum zinc measured in all patients on admission. Results: Serum zinc level was significantly lower among patients admitted to PICU (group 1) compared with patients admitted to wards (group 2) (P 38 or hypothermia 160 beats per minute and child heart rate
Mann-Whitney-U-test and Pearson correlation were used. The di-
>150 beats per minute); (3) tachypnoea (infants respiratory rate
agnostic power of the zinc was evaluated by the receiver operating
>60 breaths per minute and child respiratory rate >50 breaths per
characteristic (ROC) curve with the Youden index used to select the
minute); and (4) abnormal WBC (WBC >1200 cells/mm3 or >10%
optimal cut-off values. A 2-sided P
