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Arch Intern Med. 2002;162:2376-2377.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Zinc deficiency is an unusual complication of total parenteral nutrition (TPN).¹ We report a case of a young woman with zinc deficiency caused by prolonged parenteral nutrition whose chief initial presentation was intractable vomiting.

Report of a Case

A white, 21-year-old woman was admitted in December 1997 with persistent vomiting. In August 1997, the patient experienced penetrating thoracic and abdominal injuries caused by 2 gun shots. At another hospital, she was submitted to a surgical procedure to repair a right ventricle lesion and a transverse colon injury and to establish a colostomy. In the postoperative follow-up, she developed mediastinitis, recurrent peritonitis, and prolonged paralytic ileus. During the next 3 months, the patient received TPN. Four months after surgery, she was discharged, and 5 days later, persistent vomiting (5-7 episodes a day), intermittent diarrhea, and disorientation had begun. One week later she was referred to our hospital. Findings from initial examination showed no abnormalities except . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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