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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Take the CME quiz: Vol. 8 No. 4, April 2007 E-Letters: Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when E-Letters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services E-mail this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My File Cabinet Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Giles, E. Articles by Doyle, L. W. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Giles, E. Articles by Doyle, L. W.

NeoReviews Vol.8 No.4 2007 e165
© 2007 American Academy of Pediatrics

Zinc in Extremely Low-birthweight or Very Preterm Infants

Ed Giles, MB, MRCPCH^*
Lex W. Doyle, MD, FRACP^*,

^* Division of Newborn Services, Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
Departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, and Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia

With the increasing survival of extremely low-birthweight or very preterm infants, it is becoming increasingly important to understand micronutrient needs. Most fetal accretion of zinc occurs in the third trimester, when liver stores are laid down, putting these babies at risk of clinical deficiency. It remains difficult to monitor zinc concentrations without clear reference ranges, but some evidence can guide requirements to avoid deficiency. It is not clear whether matching fetal accretion is necessary or whether increasing zinc balance improves short- or long-term outcomes in preterm infants. Given the increasing knowledge, it is possible to make recommendations on the amount of zinc that should be provided, whether by the parenteral or enteral route, in human or formula milk to the smallest babies.