Vandana Jaiprakash Baraskar, Pradeep Parashuram Shinde
BACKGROUND Tuberculosis remains a worldwide public health problem, despite the fact that the causative organisms were discovered more than ten decades ago and highly effective medicines are available. Zinc is an important factor for cell mediated immunity. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the status of zinc as a micronutrient in pulmonary TB in study population and to see the effectiveness of zinc therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study participants included 40 (20 males and 20 females) sputum positive Pulmonary TB cases as per the DOTS guidelines and 40 control subjects (20 males & 20 females of same age groups). RESULTS Study subjects had significantly low plasma zinc levels. Estimation of plasma zinc level in pulmonary T.B. is an important tool in diagnosis & monitoring of response to treatment. Supplementation of zinc in pulmonary T.B. may improve immunological response of patients, which helps in early recovery & effectiveness of therapy. CONCLUSION Our study shows significant low level of serum Zinc levels as compare to normal subjects. Zinc supplementation should be given along with other nutrients.
