Korean J Clin Pharm.  2021 Jun;31(2):136-144. 10.24304/kjcp.2021.31.2.136.

Clinical Effects of Zinc Supplementation in Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

• Park HW
• Lee SY
• An SH

• KMID: 2517311
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.24304/kjcp.2021.31.2.136

Abstract

Background
Zinc is known for modulating antiviral and antibacterial immunity and regulating inflammatory response. This study aimed to examine the effect of zinc supplementation on clinical outcomes of hospitalized COVID-19 patients through systematic literature review and meta-analysis.
Methods
PubMed/Medline, Embase, and Cochrane library databases were searched for studies comparing zinc supplement group versus control group for clinical outcomes of COVID-19 up to November 3, 2020. The search results were updated on February 9, 2021. The meta-analysis was performed by RevMan 5.4 software.
Results
Total 4 studies were included in this systematic review. The zinc administered group had a significantly lower mortality rate compared with the control group (odds ratio [OR] 0.63, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.53-0.75, p<0.001), with significantly higher discharge rate (OR 1.32, 95% Cl 1.15-1.52, p<0.001). However, there were no significant differences in the intensive care unit admission rate (OR 1.07, 95% Cl 0.26-4.48, p=0.92), mechanical ventilation rate (OR 0.80, 95% Cl 0.45-1.41, p=0.44), and length of hospital stay (mean difference 0.75, 95% Cl −0.64 to 2.13, p=0.29) between the two groups.
Conclusion
The meta-analysis of zinc administration showed positive clinical effects on the discharge rate and mortality of COVID-19 hospitalized patients. However, large-scale randomized controlled trial should be conducted for zinc to be considered as one of the adjuvant treatments.

Keyword

Zinc; COVID-19; meta-analysis