Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33629384›Full record

Trial reportJournal of medical virology2021

A pilot double-blind safety and feasibility randomized controlled trial of high-dose intravenous zinc in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Oneel Patel, Vidyasagar Chinni, John El-Khoury, Marlon Perera, Ary S Neto, Christine McDonald, Emily See, Daryl Jones, Damien Bolton, Rinaldo Bellomo and 2 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of medical virology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
31citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

31 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Zinc supplementation and COVID-19 mortality: a meta-analysis.European journal of medical research · 2022
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Trial
  6. Trial
  7. Serum zinc level independently predicts need for inpatient intubation among patients hospitalized with COVID-19: A prospective observational study.Nutrition in clinical practice : official publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition · 2026
    Observational
  8. Review
  9. Review
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Zinc and selenium status in coronavirus disease 2019.Biometals : an international journal on the role of metal ions in biology, biochemistry, and medicine · 2023
    Review
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Review
  19. Zinc pyrithione is a potent inhibitor of PLJournal of enzyme inhibition and medicinal chemistry · 2022
    Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Oneel PatelDepartment of Surgery, The University of Melbourne, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5628-7205
Vidyasagar ChinniDepartment of Surgery, The University of Melbourne, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5615-1815
John El-KhouryDepartment of Surgery, The University of Melbourne, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia.
Marlon PereraDepartment of Surgery, The University of Melbourne, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1138-6389
Ary S NetoAustralian and New Zealand Intensive Care-Research Centre, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1520-9387
Christine McDonaldDepartment of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia.
Emily SeeDepartment of Intensive Care, Austin Hospital, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia.
Daryl JonesDepartment of Surgery, The University of Melbourne, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia.
Damien BoltonDepartment of Surgery, The University of Melbourne, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5145-6783
Rinaldo BellomoCentre for Integrated Critical Care, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1650-8939
Jason TrubianoDepartment of Infectious Disease, The University of Melbourne, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5111-6367
Joseph IschiaDepartment of Surgery, The University of Melbourne, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7177-3631

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Zinc inhibits replication of the SARS-CoV virus. We aimed to evaluate the safety, feasibility, and biological effect of administering high-dose intravenous zinc (HDIVZn) to patients with COVID-19. We performed a Phase IIa double-blind, randomized controlled trial to compare HDIVZn to placebo in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We administered trial treatment per day for a maximum of 7 days until either death or hospital discharge. We measured zinc concentration at baseline and during treatment and observed patients for any significant side effects. For eligible patients, we randomized and administered treatment to 33 adult participants to either HDIVZn (n = 15) or placebo (n = 18). We observed no serious adverse events throughout the study for a total of 94 HDIVZn administrations. However, three participants in the HDIVZn group reported infusion site irritation. Mean serum zinc on Day 1 in the placebo, and the HDIVZn group was 6.9 ± 1.1 and 7.7 ± 1.6 µmol/l, respectively, consistent with zinc deficiency. HDIVZn, but not placebo, increased serum zinc levels above the deficiency cutoff of 10.7 µmol/l (p < .001) on Day 6. Our study did not reach its target enrollment because stringent public health measures markedly reduced patient hospitalizations. Hospitalized COVID-19 patients demonstrated zinc deficiency. This can be corrected with HDIVZn. Such treatment appears safe, feasible, and only associated with minimal peripheral infusion site irritation. This pilot study justifies further investigation of this treatment in COVID-19 patients.

Indexed as

COVID-19 Drug TreatmentSARS-CoV-2AdultAgedAged, 80 and overDose-Response Relationship, DrugDouble-Blind MethodFeasibility StudiesFemaleHumansInjections, IntravenousInpatientsMaleMiddle AgedOxygenPilot ProjectsOxygenZincCOVID-19randomized controlled trialtrial protocolzinc

Identifiers

PMID33629384
PMCPMC8014767

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.