title: Effect of zinc supplementation on duration of hospitalization in Tanzanian children presenting with acute pneumonia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Zinc supplementation prevents incident pneumonia in children; however, the effect for pneumonia treatment remains unclear.
  
  
  METHODS
  A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of zinc supplements (daily 25 mg) adjunct to antibiotic treatment of radiology-confirmed acute pneumonia was conducted among hospitalized children (6-36 months) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The trial was stopped early due to low enrollment, primarily owing to exclusion of children outside the age range and >3 days of prior illness. Among children enrolled (n = 94), zinc supplementation indicated no beneficial effect on the duration of hospitalization (IRR: 0.69; 95% CI 0.45-1.06; p = 0.09) or the proportion of children who were hospitalized for <3 days (RR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.57-1.25; p = 0.40) or <5 days (RR: 1.01; 95% CI: 0.83-1.23; p = 0.92) (IRRs and RRs >1.0 favor zinc).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although underpowered, this randomized trial provided no evidence for a beneficial effect of zinc supplementation adjunct to antibiotics for hospitalized children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
authors.forename: Maulidi R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Fataki
authors.forename: Rodrick R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Kisenge
authors.forename: Christopher R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Sudfeld
authors.forename: Said
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aboud
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Okuma
authors.forename: Saurabh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.forename: Donna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Spiegelman
authors.forename: Wafaie W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Fawzi
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D013636:Tanzania / Q000453:epidemiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D015032:Zinc / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood; D019287:Zinc Sulfate / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D019287:Zinc Sulfate; D015032:Zinc
keywords: child; micronutrients; pneumonia; respiratory tract infections; zinc