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Trace Element Concentrations in Human Tissues of Death Cases Associated With Secondary Infection and MOF After Severe Trauma

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Abstract

Proper trace element level is crucial for the organs in maintaining normal physiological functions. Multiple organ failure (MOF) might be added to critically ill patients due to a lack of trace elements. Alterations of trace element levels in brain, heart, liver, and kidney after severe trauma, however, have been little studied so far. In this study, tissue samples of the frontal cortex of the brain, interventricular septum of the heart, right lobe of the liver, and upper pole of the kidney were obtained from forensic autopsies, of which 120 cases died during the 5th to 15th day of hospitalization, whereas the trauma death group and 43 cases immediately died due to severe craniocerebral trauma as the control group. Copper (Cu), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), and selenium (Se) were quantified by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrophotometry (ICP-AES). Cu, Fe, Zn, and Se concentrations in the brain, heart, liver, and kidney in the trauma group decreased dramatically (p < 0.05) compared to the control group. The incidence of secondary infection and multiple organ failure (MOF) in the trauma death group were 78.33 and 29.17 %, respectively. The concentrations of all elements exhibited a significant correlation with secondary infection and MOF (p < 0.01). Our data suggest that low concentrations of Cu, Fe, Zn, and Se in pivotal organs may contribute to the incidence of secondary infection and MOF after severe trauma, which to some extent results in death.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Long Xu (Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Developmental Toxicology, SUMC) for critical reading of the manuscript. We appreciate the support from the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation (LQ14H230001), Scientific Research Fund of Zhejiang Provincial Education Department (Y201330031), and the National Natural Science Foundation Council of China (30772458, 81400489, and 81400654).

Conflict of Interest

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. National Key Disciplines, Department of Forensic and Pathology, Shantou University Medical College, 515041, Shantou, Guangdong Province, People’s Republic of China

      Guangtao Xu, Ruibing Su, Bo Li, Junyao Lv, Xianxian Li, Jiang Gu & Xiaojun Yu

    2. Department of Forensic and Pathology, Jiaxing University Medical College, 314001, Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China

      Guangtao Xu

    3. Department of Forensic Pathology, Jiaxing Zhiyuan Forensic Science Institute, 314001, Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China

      Guangtao Xu

    4. Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Beihua University, 132013, Jilin, Jilin Province, People’s Republic of China

      Weiqi Sun

    5. Department of Pathology, Jiaxing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 314001, Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China

      Bo Hu

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    1. Guangtao Xu
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    Correspondence to Xiaojun Yu.

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    Guangtao Xu, Ruibing Su and Bo Li contributed equally to this work.

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    Xu, G., Su, R., Li, B. et al. Trace Element Concentrations in Human Tissues of Death Cases Associated With Secondary Infection and MOF After Severe Trauma. Biol Trace Elem Res 168, 335–339 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-015-0378-4

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-015-0378-4

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