The Effects of Zinc Sulfate on Sepsis Outcomes in Neonates: A Blind Clinical Trial

The present study aimed at assessing the effects of zinc sulfate supplementation on sepsis outcomes in neonates.
This randomized double-blind clinical trial was performed on neonates suffering neonatal sepsis. They were hospitalized in NICU ward at Hajar hospital in Shahrekord, Iran, in 2018. The patients were randomly assigned into two groups receiving a combined therapy of oral zinc sulfate (3mg/kg/day) and antibiotic for ten days (the intervention group, n=30) or routine anti-sepsis antibiotic therapy for the same time (the control group, n=30). The intervention and control groups were matched for baseline variables including gestational age, patients' age, time for beginning the first feeding and baseline anthropometric parameters. Height, weight, head circumference, feeding tolerance time, number of days of oxygenation, number of days hospitalized, NEC, duration of TPN reception, and time at feeding completion in the two groups were compared.
In total, 37 males and 23 females participated in this study, 21.7% of whom were born by natural vaginal delivery and others by cesarean section. There was a significant difference between the intervention and control groups in terms of neonates' weight and height, the rate of receiving TPN, Apgar score and nutrition tolerance. The use of zinc sulfate resulted in a significant increase in body weight and height, requiring less TPN use, and also shorter time to achieve nutritional tolerance (P<0.05).
The use of oral zinc sulfate (3 mg/kg/day divided for 10 days) in neonates suffering from sepsis improves sepsis-related clinical outcomes, leading to improvements in linear growth and nutrition tolerance, along with shortening the time for TPN