title: Serum Concentrations of Trace Elements in Patients with Tuberculosis and Its Association with Treatment Outcome.
abstract: Deficiencies in essential trace elements are associated with impaired immunity in tuberculosis infection. However, the trace element concentrations in the serum of Korean patients with tuberculosis have not yet been investigated. This study aimed to compare the serum trace element concentrations of Korean adult patients with tuberculosis with noninfected controls and to assess the impact of serum trace element concentration on clinical outcome after antituberculosis treatment. The serum concentrations of four trace elements in 141 consecutively recruited patients with tuberculosis and 79 controls were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Demographic characteristics were also analyzed. Serum cobalt and copper concentrations were significantly higher in patients with tuberculosis compared with controls, while zinc and selenium concentrations were significantly lower (p < 0.01). Moreover, serum selenium and zinc concentrations were positively correlated (ρ = 0.41, p < 0.05). A high serum copper concentration was associated with a worse clinical outcome, as assessed after one month of antituberculosis therapy. Specifically, culture-positive patients had higher serum copper concentrations than culture-negative patients (p < 0.05). Patients with tuberculosis had altered serum trace element concentrations. Further research is needed to elucidate the roles of individual trace elements and to determine their clinical impact on patients with tuberculosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine and Genetics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-Ro, Gangnam-Gu, Seoul 135-710, Korea. rihwa.choi@samsung.com.
authors.forename: Rihwa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine and Genetics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-Ro, Gangnam-Gu, Seoul 135-710, Korea. elbereth.kim@samsung.com.
authors.forename: Hyoung-Tae
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics and Clinical Epidemiology Center, Samsung Medical Center, 81 Irwon-Ro, Gangnam-Gu, Seoul 135-710, Korea. yaeji.lim@samsung.com.
authors.forename: Yaeji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics team, Samsung Biomedical Research Institute, 81 Irwon-Ro, Gangnam-Gu, Seoul 135-710, Korea. minji93.kim@samsung.com.
authors.forename: Min-Ji
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-Ro, Gangnam-Gu, Seoul 135-710, Korea. ojung.kwon@samsung.com.
authors.forename: O Jung
authors.initials: OJ
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-Ro, Gangnam-Gu, Seoul 135-710, Korea. kyeongman.jeon@samsung.com.
authors.forename: Kyeongman
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-Ro, Gangnam-Gu, Seoul 135-710, Korea. kerrybe.park@samsung.com.
authors.forename: Hye Yun
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-Ro, Gangnam-Gu, Seoul 135-710, Korea. bh82.jeong@samsung.com.
authors.forename: Byeong-Ho
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-Ro, Gangnam-Gu, Seoul 135-710, Korea. wjkoh@skku.edu.
authors.forename: Won-Jung
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine and Genetics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-Ro, Gangnam-Gu, Seoul 135-710, Korea. sy117.lee@samsung.com.
authors.forename: Soo-Youn
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000097:blood*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D014131:Trace Elements
keywords: Korea; inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry; trace elements; tuberculosis