Serum selenium and zinc levels in critically ill surgical patients

Purpose: The authors designed this study to determine how serum selenium and zinc affect the outcomes of critically ill surgical patients. Methods: The medical records of 162 patients admitted to a surgical intensive care unit (ICU) from October 2010 to July 2012 and managed for more than 3 days were retrospectively investigated. Results: Overall, the mean patient age was 61.2 ± 15.0 years, and the median ICU stay was 5 (3-115) days. The mean Acute Physiologic and Chronic Health Evaluation II score was 18.0 ± 8.0. Eighteen (11.1%) of the study subjects died in ICU. mean selenium levels were 83.5 ± 23.8 ng/dL in the survivor group and 83.3 ± 29.6 ng/dL in the nonsurvivor group, and corresponding mean zinc levels were 46.3 ± 21.7 and 65.6 ± 41.6 μg/dL, respectively. Mean selenium concentrations were significantly different in patients with and without shock (77.9 ± 25.4 and 87.2 ± 23.1 ng/dL, P = .017). Furthermore, mean serum selenium was lower in patients with sepsis than in traumatic or simply postoperative patients (P < .001 and P = .038). Serum Zn was significantly lower in patients with sepsis than in patients with trauma (43.4 ± 25.4 μg/dL vs 54.8 ± 28.1 μg/dL, P = .038). Conclusions: To determine the effects of serum selenium and zinc levels on critically ill surgical patients, a large-scale prospective study is needed.