Characteristics of albumin and inflammatory status in patients with acute appendicitis: Clinical value in management of zinc deficiency

Objective: Serum zinc deficiency during the preoperative period is important to clinical manifestation and outcome. The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of nutritional status and inflammatory status in patients with acute appendicitis and to assess the association with serum zinc levels. Materials and methods: A prospective observational cohort study was conducted among 122 patients with acute appendicitis and 102 healthy controls. Results of routine blood test, liver function test, and renal function test at admission were documented for all subjects. The levels of zinc, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1) in serum were measured. Results: The levels of serum zinc, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, albumin, total protein, and lymphocyte count decreased significantly in patients with acute appendicitis compared to healthy controls (p < 0.05), whereas the levels of blood glucose, globulin, white blood cell count (WBC), neutrophilic granulocyte count (NEUT), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (N/L), IL-6, and SOD1 concentrations increased significantly (p < 0.05). The characteristics of serum zinc, globulin, albumin, total protein, WBC, NEUT, and N/L as well as the incidence of serum zinc deficiency were significantly different between patients with simple, suppurative, or gangrenous/perforated acute appendicitis. The serum zinc level was positively correlated with albumin and total protein, whilst negatively with NEUT and N/L. Conclusion: The nutritional and inflammatory status were significantly altered in patients with different types of acute appendicitis. The supplementation of albumin would be beneficial for improving the serum zinc deficiency status in patients with acute appendicitis.