The efficacy of zinc supplementation on outcome of children with severe pneumonia. A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial.

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in this randomized controlled trial publication.

To compare the clinical outcome of children having severe pneumonia, with and without zinc supplementation by a randomized double-blind placebo controlled trial.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 128 children were involved.

PubMed indexes the participants as infants and young children, both men and women.

Primary outcome measurements included the time taken for clinical symptoms of severe pneumonia such as fever and respiratory distress symptoms to resolve, and the secondary outcome included the duration of hospital stay.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

Blinding on both sides kept the children and researchers unaware of who received Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc.

Some children received a placebo instead of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc, giving a reference point.

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Dietary Supplements, Pneumonia, Bacterial and Zinc Sulfate.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in 128 children.

Results are reported in around 5 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2011 (Indian journal of pediatrics), a journal based in India.

More context: the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc compound page, all human trials.