Differential effect of surgical injury and thermal burn on zinc metabolism in man.

Serum, erythrocyte and urinary zinc were serially measured during the early ten days following major surgery or thermal burns in 18 and 8 patients, respectively. Serum zinc gradually decreased and erythrocyte and urinary zinc increased during the first three postoperative or post-burn days. Thereafter, both serum and erythrocyte zinc gradually returned to preoperative levels in the patients subjected to surgery, while serum zinc continued to fall progressively despite a rapid restoration of erythrocyte zinc to control values, in the burned patients. It is suggested that in contrast to the early postoperative or post-burn hypozincemia, which may be attributed to a redistribution of zinc from plasma to tissue, continued decrease in serum zinc following thermal burns may indicate a mobilization of zinc to the burn site and eventually result in significant zinc depletion.