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Symptomatic zinc deficiency in breast‐fed term and premature infants
Author(s) -
STEVENS J,
LUBITZ L
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1046/j.1440-1754.1998.00164.x
Subject(s) - medicine , zinc deficiency (plant disorder) , term (time) , pediatrics , zinc , breast feeding , micronutrient , pathology , physics , quantum mechanics , materials science , metallurgy
Two 3‐month‐old exclusively breast‐fed infants, one born at full‐term and the other born prematurely, developed symptomatic zinc deficiency manifested by an acrodermatitis enteropathica‐like eruption. Inadequate breast milk zinc was demonstrated in both cases. A rapid clinical response followed oral zinc supplementation after which their serum zinc levels returned to normal. The infants remained asymptomatic following cessation of zinc therapy. Reports of similar cases suggest that in a group of infants breast milk does not meet their nutritional zinc requirements. Inadequate breast milk zinc is thought to result from a defect in transfer of zinc from maternal serum to breast milk.