Impact of a New Preoperative Immune-Nutrition Protocol Using Zinc on Hospital Outcomes of Children with...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Surgery
• Nutritional Science
• Gastroenterology

Background:

• Zinc plays a vital role in human health, particularly in managing gastrointestinal inflammatory diseases.
• Hirschsprung's disease (HD) is a congenital condition affecting the large intestine, often requiring surgical intervention.
• Optimizing patient outcomes after HD surgery is a key clinical focus.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of preoperative zinc intake on postoperative outcomes in children with Hirschsprung's disease (HD).
• To assess the effect of zinc supplementation on hospital length of stay as a primary outcome.
• To evaluate nutritional and inflammatory markers and their correlation with hospital outcomes in pediatric HD patients.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 50 children diagnosed with HD undergoing elective pull-through surgery.
• Patients were randomly assigned to either a zinc treatment group (25 patients) or a control group (25 patients).
• Postoperative outcomes, including complications, hospital stay, and inflammatory/nutritional markers, were monitored.

Main Results:

• The zinc supplementation group exhibited a significantly lower incidence of overall complications (20%) compared to the control group (64%) (p=0.002).
• Specific reductions were observed in Hirschsprung's associated enterocolitis (HAEC) (12% vs. 40%) and skin excoriation (8% vs. 32%) in the zinc group.
• The study identified potential benefits of zinc on nutritional and inflammatory status impacting hospital outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Preoperative zinc supplementation appears to be beneficial for children with Hirschsprung's disease undergoing surgery.
• Zinc intake may reduce the incidence of key postoperative complications like HAEC and skin excoriation.
• Further research into zinc's role in optimizing surgical outcomes for HD patients is warranted.