ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the serum levels of certain vitamins and trace elements in infant and children with pneumonia.Methods Totally 120 pediatric patients with pneumonia who were treated in our hospital were enrolled in the study.Meanwhile,60 age-matched healthy children were randomly selected as the control group.The serum vitamin A level was analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography.The serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D level was analyzed using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.The serum zinc,calcium,magnesium,and iron contents were detected using atomic absorption spectrometry.The differences of serum levels of vitamins and trace elements as well as the ratios of vitamins and trace elements deficiency were compared between these two groups.Results The rates of iron,zinc,and vitamin A deficiencies were 35.36％,37.09％,and 46.59％,respectively,in pediatric patients with pneumonia,which were significantly higher than those in the control group ( 18.76％,x2 =4.32; 20.08％,x2 =4.15 ; 25.08％,x2 =5.81 ; all P ＜0.05).There were no significant differences in the rates of calcium,magnesium,and vitamin D deficiencies between these two groups ( all P ＞ 0.05 ).The serum zinc [ ( 16.07 ± 3.56) vs.(23.24 ± 4.05) μmol/L,t =15.82,P ＜ 0.05 ],iron [ ( 19.89 ± 4.79) vs.(25.13 ± 5.07 ) μmol/L,t =6.65,P ＜ 0.05 ],and vitamin A levels [ ( 365.76 ±35.37 ) vs.(451.09 ± 32.16) μg/L,t =2.14,P ＜ 0.05 ] in the pneumonia group were significantly lower than those in the control group.The serum levels of calcium,magnesium,and 25-hydroxy vitamin D showed no significant difference between these two groups ( all P ＞ 0.05 ).Conclusion Zinc,iron,and/or vitamin A deficiencies are common among infant and children with pneumonia.