Blood zinc levels in children hospitalized with pneumonia: A cross sectional study

BackgroundRecent works have provided conflicting evidence on the role of zinc in acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI).ObjectiveWe aimed to study the relation between blood zinc levels and severity of pneumonia.Patients and methodsA retrospective study was conducted in the Cairo University Pediatric Hospital, to assess serum zinc levels in 40 Egyptian children, aged 3–144 months, admitted with the diagnosis of pneumonia. Half of them were admitted in the general ward and the other half were admitted in the pediatric ICU.ResultsMales (67.5%) were more affected by ALRI than females. The mean serum zinc in patients was normal (80.33 + 25.3 μg/dL) yet, the mean serum zinc level in PICU patients was lower than that of general ward patients (p = 0.001).ConclusionWe concluded that the lower the serum zinc level, the higher the grade of respiratory distress among children with pneumonia.