Table 1.
Zinc supplementation studies in septic patients.
| Study Population | Intervention/Zn-Supply | Observation Time Points | Results (Zinc Group vs. Control Group) | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neonates with clinical signs suggestive of sepsis and at least two screening tests positive |
Zinc group *: Antibiotic treatment, dose of 3 mg/kg bodyweight (BW) zinc sulfate monohydrate twice a day for 10 days (corresponding to 2.1 mg/kg BW Zn2+ per day) Control group: Antibiotic treatment |
Measurement of blood samples from base line (BL) and after 10 days | • Significant increase in serum zinc concentrations compared to BL • Significant decrease in TNF-α compared to BL • Lower mortality rate, but not reaching significance (7.4% compared to 16.4%) • Similar duration of hospitalization |
[78] |
| Neonates with clinical features of sepsis and positive blood culture or positive sepsis screening tests |
Zinc group *: Antibiotic treatment, dose of 3 mg/kg BW zinc sulfate monohydrate twice a day for 10 days (corresponding to 2.1 mg/kg BW Zn2+ per day) Control group: Antibiotic treatment |
Measurement of blood samples from BL and after 10 days | • Increase in serum zinc concentrations compared to BL, but not reaching significance • Lower mortality rate, but not reaching significance (4.5% compared to 13.6%) • Better neurological status (chance of having abnormalities is 70% less) at one month of age • Similar duration of hospitalization |
[79] |
| Neonates with clinical manifestations of sepsis who exhibited two positive screening tests |
Zinc group *: Antibiotic treatment, dose of 3 mg/kg BW zinc sulfate monohydrate twice a day for 10 days (corresponding to 2.1 mg/kg BW Zn2+ per day) Control group: Antibiotic treatment |
Measurement of blood samples from BL and after 10 days | • Significant increase in serum zinc concentrations • Significantly lower mortality rate (6.6% compared to 17.3%) • Better neurodevelopment (significantly better Mental Development Quotient) at 12 month of age |
[80] |
| Neonates with probable sepsis |
Zinc group *: Antibiotic treatment, dose of 1 mg/kg BW zinc sulfate per day until the final outcome (discharge/death) (corresponding to 0.4 mg/kg BW Zn2+ per day) Control group Antibiotic treatment, dose of placebo until the final outcome (discharge/death) |
Final outcome at discharge/death | • No significant differences in mortality rate • No significant differences in duration of hospital stay • No significant differences in requirement of antibiotic treatment |
[81] |
| Patients with pancreatitis or catheter sepsis |
Zinc group *: Total parental nutrition, 30 mg zinc sulfate per day for 3 days (corresponding to 12.1 mg Zn2+ per day) Control group: Total parental nutrition, 0 mg zinc sulfate for 3 days |
Measurement of blood samples from BL, day 1, 2, 3; highest temperatures from patients’ bedside charts from day 1, 2, 3 | • Higher temperatures, reaching significance on day 3 • No difference in serum IL-6 and ceruloplasmin |
[82] |
* In all studies, zinc supplementation was started after the onset of sepsis.