Profile of Serum Zinc Levels in Pediatric Sepsis Patients at Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Sanglah Hospital Denpasar - Bali

Introduction: Low serum zinc levels are associated with immune dysfunction, morbidity and mortality due to sepsis. Decreased serum zinc levels are associated with disease’s severity and mortality. Low serum zinc levels often undetected and are not considered during treatment in the pediatric intensive care unit. In Indonesia there has been no research on serum zinc levels in pediatric sepsis patients. Purpose: To know the prevalence and characteristics of serum zinc levels in pediatric sepsis patients at the pediatic intensive care unit (PICU) of the Sanglah Hospital Denpasar in 2019. Methods: This research was a prospective descriptive study, which used PELOD-2 score for diagnosing sepsis in pediatric patient and determination of serum zinc levels through venous blood tests at the pediatric intensive care unit Sanglah Hospital which was collected using the consecutive sampling method with inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: Total of 56 children diagnosed with sepsis were included in this study. Infant age group is the largest age group suffering from sepsis, accounted for 44.6 %. The mean zinc content was 62.0 + 28.97 with a low zinc level of 69.7 % and the death was 25 %. Higher PELOD-2 score means lower zinc levels, with the comparison of PELOD-2 scores greater than 7 and greater than 11 are 16.1 % and 53.6 %, respectively. Conclusion: Low serum zinc levels were found in septic patients and correlates with organ failure.