Hubungan Kadar Seng Plasma dengan Derajat Penyakit Pneumonia

Pneumonia is a major health problem affecting children all over the world and remains a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Children with micronutrients deficiency including zinc, which might cause immune system disorder, have higher risk to have pneumonia. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between plasma zinc level and pneumonia, severe, and very severe pneumonia in children aged 2–59 months. This observational analytic with cross-sectional study was performed at the Pediatric Department of Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital, Ujung Berung Hospital and Cibabat Hospital, in August to November 2009. Subjects of this study were 2–59-month-old children who meet the WHO Indonesian classification for pneumonia. Blood samples for plasma zinc examination were collected on admission. Data were analysed using exact Fisher and Mann-Whitney test for the association between plasma zinc level and severity of pneumonia. A total of 42 subjects were enrolled, 1 (2%) child were classified as having pneumonia, 32 (76%) children with severe, and 9 (22%) with very severe pneumonia. There were significant differences (p=0.032) in plasma zinc levels between severe and very severe pneumonia with a median of 96.685 μg/dL (57.32–195.66 μg/dL) for severe pneumonia and 80.240 μg/dL (63.0–111.84 μg/dL) for very severe pneumonia. This study shows an association between plasma zinc levels and severe and very severe pneumonia in children aged 2–59 months.