Perinatal zinc deficiency

An ex-preterm, exclusively breastfed baby with poor postnatal growth was evaluated at 5 months of age for perianal erosive dermatitis (figure 1) and foul stools. No other cutaneous involvement was present. Investigations showed mild zinc deficiency (65 μg/dL, range 68–107). Unfortunately, no maternal blood or breast milk zinc levels were available. The dermatitis rapidly improved in six days (figure 2) on oral supplementation with zinc sulfate (2 mg/kg/day), and remained stable on zinc-enriched formula milk, without …