الفهرس 
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Abstract
Preterm infants have a high risk of zinc, copper, and other
micronutrient deficiencies and are frequently growth-retarded. There
are multiple contributing factors which explain this. As a consequence
of shorter gestation and the immaturity of the gastrointestinal tract,
these infants have lower body stores. Premature infants also have a
high nutrient demand because of rapid postnatal growth and an
increased risk of intercurrent diseases, which means that the intake of
nutrients may be inadequate during the first months of life.
Zinc is a nutrient essential for maintaining structure and
functions of several enzymes, including those which are involved in
the production of growth hormones and in transcribing and translating
of deoxyribonucleic acid and therefore cell division.
Zinc deficiency has been associated with reduced growth,
impaired immunity, and increased prevalence and incidence of
infectious diseases among infants and children in developing
countries.
In our developing countries, preterm and LBW infants are
especially vulnerable for zinc deficiency.
The current study was done to study the effect of zinc
supplementation on growth of preterm infants.
This study was carried upon 60 preterm infants admitted to
NICU at Tala Hospital. Infants were divided into 2 groups.
group I: preterm infants who received zinc supplementation in
a dose of 2 mg/kg/day orally for 6 months.
group II (control group): preterm infants who didn’t receive
zinc supplementation.
Both groups were of healthy exclusively breastfed preterm
infants between 1.8 kg to 2.5 kg, below 37 weeks, their weights were
appropriate for gestational age and were in a stable clinical condition
without any evidence of disease likely to influence their growth.
Both groups were assessed immediately after birth. There were
no statistical significant differences between the groups regarding
Apgar scores at 1 minute and 5 minutes, gestational age, gender, birth
weight, length, head circumference, serum Zinc levels and Hb levels
at birth.
All children underwent thorough history taking, physical
examination. Growth was assessed in the form of weight, length and
head circumference at birth and 6 months. Also laboratory tests, serum
Zinc and Hb levels were done at birth and 6 months.
In present study, we compared both groups regarding
anthropometry and we found statistical significant differences
between the two groups regarding weight and length at the age of six
months.
On the other hand, there was no significant increase of head
circumference of zinc supplemented group at 6 months.
Also we have compared both groups concerning, Hb and serum
zinc level to find that: There is highly significant increase in Hb levels
in zinc supplemented group at 6 months compared to non-zinc
supplemented group and serum zinc levels were significantly higher in
zinc supplemented group at the age of six months denoting the
improvement of their zinc status after supplementation.
In conclusion, we concluded that zinc supplementation has a
positive effect on linear growth in premature infants.
So, we recommend zinc supplementation for preterm infants for
better growth, and recommend further studies of zinc supplementation
to be carried out on infants with different durations and at different
ages.