Oral Zinc Supplement Reduces Duration of Severe Pneumonia

Researchers from Bangladesh and Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md, investigated the clinical effects of oral zinc supplementation as an adjuvant to antibiotic treatment of severe pneumonia in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial among inpatient children at a rural Bangladesh hospital. Pneumonia was diagnosed based on the presence of cough, respiratory rate >50, and crepitations on auscultation. Severe pneumonia was defined as pneumonia with chest indrawing, cyanosis, inability to feed, or lethargy. Two hundred seventy children aged 2–23 months were randomized to receive 20 mg elemental zinc (as zinc acetate syrup) or placebo daily plus the hospital’s standard antimicrobial management. Vaccines to prevent Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae are not in routine …