Zinc status and dark adaptation in patients subjected to total gastrectomy: effect of zinc supplementation.

Totally gastrectomized patients could be regarded at risk for development of nutritional deficiencies including trace elements. Sensitive indices for early detection of these deficiencies are lacking. In order to evaluate the nutritional status of trace elements in patients previously subjected to a total gastrectomy we studied the zinc status in 10 patients by determining serum zinc, urinary zinc excretion and also, by a simplified dark adaptation test, the effect on these parameters of 4 weeks of zinc supplementation. The serum zinc level but not the 24-h urinary zinc excretion was lower in gastrectomized patients compared to age-matched controls. A slower dark adaptation was observed in the former patients when measured in the non-fasting state but not when fasted. Dark adaptation was slower in the patients as well as the age-matched controls compared to younger healthy subjects. Zinc supplementation increased the serum zinc levels and the urinary zinc excretion in the gastrectomized patients but had no effect on dark adaptation.