Daily Zinc Supplementation for Infection Prevention in Children With Sickle Cell Anemia: The ZIPS-2 Randomized Clinical Trial.

Daily zinc supplementation at 20 mg reduces all-cause infections by 35% in children under 5 with sickle cell anemia in Uganda.

• Why it matters: Infections are a leading cause of illness and death among children with sickle cell anemia in Africa, and current prevention strategies are insufficient. Understanding safe, accessible interventions like zinc could improve health outcomes in this vulnerable group.
• What they did: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial enrolled 100 children aged 1 to 4.99 years with sickle cell anemia in Uganda, comparing 6 months of daily zinc sulfate versus placebo, with infection rates measured per 100 person-years.
• The result: Zinc supplementation significantly lowered infection rates from 480.7 to 305.7 infections per 100 person-years, with an adjusted incidence rate ratio of 0.62, and no adverse events led to discontinuation, indicating potential for infection prevention in this population.