Effects of short-term application of low-dose growth hormone on trace element metabolism and blood glucose in surgical patients

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of patients (mean ± SD)

Variable	Placebo (n = 24)	rhGH (n=24)	P
Age (yr)	58.50 ± 9.35	59.08 ± 10.93	0.789
	39-75	35-74
Sex (femal/male)	11/13	9/15	0.558
Weight (kg)	57.90 ± 8.42	56.19 ± 11.83	0.567
Height (cm)	162.42 ± 6.92	162.88 ± 7.16	0.823
Sepsis score	0.79 ± 0.98	0.67 ± 0.87	0.742
Operation position, n (%)
Resection of stomach	6 (25)	5 (20.8)	0.297
Resection of colon	5 (20.8)	7 (29.2)
Resection of rectum	12 (50)	9 (37.5)
Others	1 (4.2)	3 (12.5)
Acumulative intakes of energy (103 kcal)	7.98 ± 0.67	7.76 ± 0.76	0.292
Acumulative intakes of nitrogen (g)	54.84 ± 5.23	53.91 ± 7.05	0.605

Table 2 Accumulative intake, excretion and balance of zincum, cuprum and ferrum

Test	Zincum		Cuprum		Ferrum
	Placebo (n = 24)	rhGH (n = 24)	Placebo (n = 24)	rhGH (n = 24)	Placebo (n = 24)	rhGH (n = 24)
Accumulative intake (mg)	65.79 ± 6.38	71.92 ± 6.96	10.01 ± 0.85	10.82 ± 0.92	65.08 ± 8.50	73.25 ± 9.29
Urinary excretion (mg)	36.74 ± 5.76	32.51 ± 5.55a	0.37 ± 0.08	0.28 ± 0.05a	18.65 ± 5.99	12.10 ± 3.92a
Feces excretion (mg)	19.14 ± 6.49	18.07 ± 7.50	4.21 ± 1.00	1.74 ± 0.95a	22.38 ± 9.82	19.65 ± 3.71
Drain excretion (mg)	2.74 ± 0.48	2.48 ± 0.62	0.84 ± 1.00	0.61 ± 0.05	14.83 ± 4.05	16.69 ± 3.32
Accumulative excretion (mg)	58.62 ± 8.69	53.06 ± 9.35	5.42 ± 1.42	2.63 ± 0.95a	55.86 ± 12.19	48.44 ± 6.34
Accumulative balance (mg)	7.17 ± 5.90	18.86 ± 6.24a	4.59 ± 1.33	8.19 ± 0.28a	9.22 ± 8.74	24.81 ± 6.79a

^aP < 0.05 vs placebo group.

Table 3 Comparison between apparent absorption (AA) and apparent utilization (AU) of zincum, cuprum and ferrum (mean ± SD)

Test	Zincum		Cuprum		Ferrum
	Placebo (n = 24)	rhGH (n = 24)	Placebo (n =24)	rhGH (n = 24)	Placebo (n = 24)	rhGH (n = 24)
Accumulative intake (mg)	65.79 ± 6.38	71.92 ± 6.96	10.01 ± 0.85	10.82 ± 0.92	65.08 ± 8.50	73.25 ± 9.29
Accumulative intake of EN (mg)	46.29 ± 6.38	52.42 ± 6.96	6.17 ± 0.85	6.98 ± 0.92	61.72 ± 8.50	69.89 ± 9.29
Urinary excretion (mg)	36.74 ± 5.76	32.51 ± 5.55	0.37 ± 0.08	0.28 ± 0.05	18.65 ± 5.99	12.10 ± 3.92
Feces excretion (mg)	19.14 ± 6.49	18.07 ± 7.50	4.21 ± 1.00	1.74 ± 0.95a	22.38 ± 9.82	19.65 ± 3.71
Apparent absorption (%)	59.09 ± 10.56	66.25 ± 11.07	31.80 ± 13.78	75.21 ± 13.69a	64.94 ± 11.72	71.87 ± 4.00
Apparent utilization (%)	15.21 ± 5.43	30.02 ± 6.23a	54.35 ± 8.87	81.36 ± 8.57a	37.31 ± 6.85	56.34 ± 6.99a

^aP < 0.05 vs placebo group.

Table 4 Comparison of blood glucose levels

Test	D1	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8	D9
Glucose (mmol/L)
Placebo	5.26 ± 1.09	5.68 ± 1.33	5.81 ± 1.56	5.84 ± 1.48	5.95 ± 2.34	6.01 ± 2.64	5.66 ± 2.03	5.70 ± 1.89
rhGH	5.14 ± 0.64	6.71 ± 1.93a	7.17 ± 1.86a	8.28 ± 2.30a	7.68 ± 2.15a	7.29 ± 2.93	6.40 ± 2.00	6.20 ± 2.13

^aP < 0.05 vs placebo group.

Table 5 Main adverse events

Event	Placebo	rhGH
Hyperglycemia	4	23a
Tetter	1	0
Sepsis	0	0
Infection	2	3
Death	0	0

^aP < 0.05 vs placebo group.