Serum and urine zinc response as well as C-R protein changes in severaly head injuried patients admitted in ICU

ABSTRACT

This study is a trial to detect changes in serum and urine zinc levels after severe head injury and their relation to GCS and outcome. Twenty-one patients with severe head injuries [GCS < 8] were diagnosed after the trauma. Initial neurological assessment as well as C-T were done for every case. Surgical treatment was carried out in eight cases and non-surgical treatment in the remaining cases. Zinc determination was done both in serum and urine for all patients on days one, four, seven, ten, thirteen and sixteen post-injury. Also, CRP analysis was carried out in the same days. There was hypozincemia all over the period of study, but there was gradual increase in serum zinc level from the first till the 16 days post-injury especially in cases with favorable outcome. However, this was not a uniform finding. There was hyperzincuria all over the period of study and it was increasing from the first till the 16 days post-injury especially in cases with favorable outcome. The CRP was higher initially then gradually decreased by time which indicated that the changes in serum zinc levels may be stress-induced