Clinical Outcomes of Zinc Supplementation Among COVID-19 Patients

Background: Zinc supplementation is frequently prescribed during the treatment of COVID-19. However, the evidence supporting the efficacy of this intervention is mixed. Objective: Establish the clinical utility of zinc supplementation to alter disease severity in COVID- 19 illness. Methods: We performed a multicenter, retrospective, observational chart review of patients admitted to Ascension St. John Hospital or Detroit Medical Center from January 1st, 2020 to May 31st, 2020. All included patients received concomitant hydroxychloroquine due to its zinc ionophore activity. Our primary outcome was a change in Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score with secondary outcomes including all-cause mortality, need for intubation, and QTc prolongation as a safety outcome. Results: We identified 489 patients who received zinc and 587 patients who did not. The primary outcome showed a small difference in the change in SOFA score in patients receiving zinc in univariate analysis (1.08 vs. 1.43, p=0.02), but this difference was not significant after adjustment for confounding factors such as receipt of corticosteroids and ICU admission. Mortality was not different between those that received zinc compared to those that did not (32.7% vs. 35.9%, p=0.268). Conclusion: Our retrospective study, including 1064 patients hospitalized in Detroit, demonstrated no differences in mortality or disease severity with zinc combination. Furthermore, prospective studies are needed to establish the utility of zinc in the treatment of COVID-19.