Zinc Supplementation in Children with Asthma Exacerbation
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Published on: August 7, 2017
Sanguansak Rerksuppaphol1, Lakkana Rerksuppaphol2
1Department of Pediatrics.
Insights
Zinc supplementation may rapidly reduce childhood asthma exacerbation severity. This study found that children receiving zinc alongside standard treatment showed quicker symptom improvement compared to placebo.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Nutritional Immunology
- Clinical Nutrition
Background:
- Zinc deficiency is linked to increased asthma risk.
- The role of zinc supplementation in managing childhood asthma exacerbations requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the effectiveness of zinc supplementation in alleviating childhood asthma exacerbation severity.
- To evaluate zinc's impact as an adjuvant therapy to standard asthma treatment.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial involving 42 children hospitalized with asthma exacerbation.
- Participants received either zinc bis-glycinate (30 mg elemental zinc/day) or a placebo, in addition to standard care.
- Asthma severity was measured using the Pediatric Respiratory Assessment Measure (PRAM) score.
Main Results:
- The zinc group exhibited a significantly faster reduction in PRAM scores at 24-hour (P=0.015) and 48-hour (P=0.042) intervals compared to the placebo group.
- No significant difference in PRAM scores was observed between children with low and normal serum zinc levels at baseline.
- Over half of the participating children (57.1%) presented with zinc deficiency at admission.
Conclusions:
- Zinc supplementation, when used adjunctively with standard treatment, can lead to a rapid decrease in asthma exacerbation severity in children.
- Further research may explore optimal zinc dosages and long-term effects in pediatric asthma management.
Abstract:
Zinc deficiency has demonstrated an association with the risk of asthma. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of zinc supplementation in reducing the severity of childhood asthma exacerbation. A number of 42 children with asthma exacerbation admitted to the hospital were randomized to receive either zinc bis-glycinate (30 mg elemental zinc/day) or a placebo in adjuvant to the standard treatment. The pediatric respiratory assessment measure (PRAM) was used to measure the asthma severity. The primary outcome was a change in asthma severity from the baseline to the end of study. The study found that PRAM score in the zinc group showed a more rapid decrease compared to the control group at the 24-hour (2.2±1.3 vs. 1.2±1.3; P = 0.015) and 48-hour (3.4±2.0 vs. 2.2±1.8; P = 0.042) intervals. At admission, overall mean serum zinc level was 63.8 mg/dL and 57.1% of children had zinc deficiency with no difference in prevalence between groups. PRAM scores did not differ between children with low and normal zinc status. In conclusion, zinc supplementation as the adjuvant therapy to the standard treatment during asthma exacerbation resulted in rapid lessening of severity.
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