Increased plasma selenium is associated with better outcomes in children with systemic inflammation

Selenium supplementation in pediatric patients using parenteral nutrition: Is it time to do something?

“…However, it is also plausible that selenium and CRP values also improved due to the effect of supplementation, since selenium has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory functions. 26 In an investigation by Leite et al 21 including infants and children with systemic inflammatory response syndrome, 90.9% of the patients were found to have selenium concentrations below the reference (the mean selenium plasma concentration was 23.4 μg/L). However, even during the acute phase of the inflammatory process, reduced ventilation and ICU length of stay were associated with increased selenium levels, indicating that supplementation may be beneficial in this population.…”

“…In fact, the selenium values detected in our study were similar to or lower than those observed in other studies, which associated low levels of selenium with diseases and serious clinical complications. 4,[18][19][20][21] Therefore, laboratory monitoring of plasma selenium may contribute to the prevention of a number of future complications with the use of supplementation from the start of PN in patients undergoing the inflammatory process.…”

“…These values are within the normal range described in several studies with the same population. 4,7,[19][20][21] Laboratory assessment of the clinical picture The other laboratory tests used in the research were those routinely used to accompany the patient in PN. Dosage and blood collection were performed by the Clinical Pathology Laboratory team of the Hospital de Clínicas.…”

Selenium status in neonates with connatal infection

“…Luckily, all neonates included in our study survived the connatal infection. Nevertheless, a severe Se deficiency needs to be considered as a relevant mortality risk factor, and Se supplementation may have beneficial effects in severely diseased neonates as documented in some but not all respective studies with adult patients (13,(50)(51)(52)(53) . Alternatively, the Se status of the mothers may be adjusted for avoiding Se deficiency during pregnancy.…”

“…Clinically, Se status correlates with survival odds and regeneration in adult patients (10)(11)(12) . Similarly, in children, high plasma Se was associated with improved outcome in systemic inflammation (13,14) , and a respective Cochrane meta-analysis highlighted a reduction in sepsis incidence upon Se supplementation in preterm neonates (15) . These findings are of high importance, as the immature immune system of neonates places them at increased risk for infections.…”