Evaluation of Serum Selenium Levels in Sepsis Patients Hospitalized in Tabriz

Selenium (Se) is one of the elements of the body whose deficiency causes immune system weakness. Given that a weak immune system is one of the main causes of sepsis, in this study, it was decided to increase the serum Se level in sepsis patients in hospitals affiliated to Tabriz University of Medical Sciences.

In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 82 patients with sepsis (common, severe, and septic shock) were selected using a two-year census sampling ending on March 21, 2019 from Sina and Imam Reza hospitals in Tabriz. Data related to the etiology of the disease, underlying diseases, comorbidities, and inpatient testing were collected for each patient, and serum Se levels were assessed by atomic absorption spectroscopy. To analyze the data, chi-square, t test, and Mann-Whitney U tests were run using SPSS, version 20, and a P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The results of a review revealed that the history of underlying diseases [diabetes (P = 0.009), hypertension (P=0.019), and malignancies (P = 0.029)], comorbidities [pneumonia (P = 0.001), malignancy and chemotherapy (P = 0.012), and meningitis (P = 0.009)], and disease etiology [bacteremia of uncertain origin (P = 0.001), pneumonia (P = 0.001), urinary tract infection (P = 0.009), and skin infection (P = 0.005)] was significantly higher in patients with septic shock compared to those with sepsis and severe sepsis. On the other hand, the severity of the disease was significantly associated with a decrease in the serum Se level (P = 0.010).

In general, serum Se levels decrease with the increased severity of sepsis. Thus, measuring Se levels may be helpful in rejecting the progression of the disease.