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Serum zinc levels in pediatric patients with COVID-19

Yıldız Ekemen Keleş1, Dilek Yılmaz Çiftdoğan2, Ayfer Çolak3

  • 1Department of Pediatric Infectious Disease, Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, Health Sciences University, Izmir, Turkey. kutupylz@hotmail.com.

European Journal of Pediatrics
|January 22, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Low serum zinc levels in children with COVID-19 were linked to higher hospitalization rates. This suggests a need for environmental assessment in these pediatric patients.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology and Virology
  • Pediatric Infectious Diseases
  • Nutritional Biochemistry

Background:

  • Serum zinc levels are critical for immune function, growth, and neurological development.
  • Low serum zinc has been observed in adult COVID-19 patients, correlating with disease severity.
  • Previous research indicated higher hospitalizations in children with low serum zinc, but severity correlation was unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the clinical significance of serum zinc levels in pediatric COVID-19 patients.
  • To determine the association between serum zinc levels and COVID-19 disease severity in children.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective observational study of 100 pediatric COVID-19 patients (1 month-18 years) and 269 controls.
  • Serum zinc levels measured using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
  • Zinc deficiency defined as serum zinc < 70 μg/dL; statistical analyses performed using SPSS.

Main Results:

  • Pediatric COVID-19 patients had significantly lower median serum zinc (88.5 mcg/dL) compared to controls (98 mcg/dL).
  • 11% of COVID-19 patients had low serum zinc levels.
  • Patients with low serum zinc exhibited a significantly higher hospitalization rate (45.5%) versus those with normal levels (11.2%).

Conclusions:

  • Low serum zinc levels in pediatric COVID-19 patients are associated with increased hospitalization risk.
  • No significant association was found between COVID-19 severity and serum zinc levels in children.
  • Findings suggest a need for detailed environmental assessment in pediatric COVID-19 patients with low serum zinc.

Keywords:
COVID-19ChildrenSARS-CoV-2Zinc

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