Investigation of the zinc status of surgical patients.

Zn kinetics were studied in two surgical patients and compared with the findings in three controls. One patient had malabsorption following resection of part of the small intestine, the other was suffering from malabsorption due to radiation enteropathy incurred more than 10 years earlier. Whole-body retention of i.v. administered 65Zn, measured with a simple linear scanner, showed a sharp initial drop in the first patient, followed by an increased retention. This was explained by large initial intestinal losses of Zn leading to a state of Zn deficiency. In the second patient, who had developed Zn deficiency over a period of years, the whole-body retention was increased from the beginning. Compared with other parameters, whole-body retention seems to be a good indicator for the Zn status of patients, although of limited clinical use because the measurements take too much time.