New research presented at the 2020 ESCMID Conference on Coronavirus Disease (ECCVID) suggests that lower levels of baseline plasma zinc are associated with poorer survival outcomes in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. The study by Dr. Roberto Guerri-Fernandez, Hospital DelMar, Barcelona, Spain, and colleagues, involved a retrospective analysis of symptomatic COVID-19 patients admitted to a tertiary university hospital in Barcelona, Spain from March 15 to April 30, 2020.

Mean baseline zinc levels among the study cohort of 249 patients were 61 mcg/dl. Among those who died (n=21, 8%), baseline zinc levels were significantly lower at 43 mcg/dl vs 63.1 mcg/dl in survivors. Although this is a small study and more research needs to be done, it is a pretty simple blood test that many of our centers are already evaluating so maybe we should take a closer look and address lower zinc levels with supplementation?

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