Serum Zinc Levels in Children With Acute Lower Respiratory Infections

Introduction Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infection (ALRTI) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the developing world. Deciency of micronutrients such as zinc may increase the risk of ALRTI. The aim of this study was to estimate serum zinc levels in children of under-5 year's of age admitted with acute lower respiratory tract infection and to compare with healthy controls. MethodsAcase control Study was carried out in the Department of Pediatrics of National Institute of Medical Sciences & Research, Jaipur. 70 children with Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infections, and another 70 served as controls. Blood samples were collected for zinc estimation in both case and control groups. Results Of the 70 cases, Demographic data was comparable amongst gender groups. Baseline clinical characteristics of cases and control group were comparable. Amongst the cases, 54 were diagnosed as bronchiolitis and 16 as bronchopneumonia. The mean (± SD) zinc levels among the cases was 90.8± 59 μg/dl and in the control group, it was 98.78±66.26 μg/dl which was statistically non-signicant (p = 0.4526). Zinc deciency was observed to be signicantly associated with the severity of bronchiolitis (p=0.00001) and bronchopneumonia (p=0.011) and prolonged hospital stay (p= 0.017) as a consequence. Conclusion The results of our study revealed that there was no signicant difference in the zinc level between children having Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infection and controls. Zinc deciency was signicantly associated with severity of pneumonia (bronchiolitis and bronchopneumonia). However to further validate we need to have good quality studies with larger sample size and proper follow-up.