Zinc depletion after small-bowel resections for Crohn's disease

The serum concentration and the 24-h urinary excretion of zinc was studied in 87 consecutive out-patients with distal small-bowel resections (mean 104 cm) because of Crohn's disease. Muscle zinc concentration was determined in 55 of the patients. The 24-h urinary excretion decreased with increasing resection length. It was abnormally low in 13 per cent of the patients with resections shorter than 100 cm and in 44 per cent of the patients with major resections. Compared to healthy controls the concentration of zinc in fat-free dry muscle was significantly lower both in patients with moderate and extensive resections. The muscle zinc concentration was below normal in one-third of the patients with a distal small-bowel resection exceeding 100 cm. The concentration of zinc in serum was below normal range in 34 per cent and did not correlate to the zinc content in muscle.