Abstract

WELSH, LETICIA et al. Efecto de la cirurgía (cesárea) sobre el estado de nutrición en vitamina C y cinc en gestantes sanas. Perinatol. Reprod. Hum. [online]. 2004, vol.18, n.3, pp.172-178. ISSN 2524-1710.

Introduction: Vitamin C and zinc are nutrients involved in the sintesis of new tissues, and have a key role in wound healing after surgery. Both nutrients are cofactors for enzymes, and vitamin C is a water-soluble antioxidant. Objective: To study the variation of indicators for these nutrients and other hematological parameters in a group of healthy pregnant women who had cesarean section. Material and Methods: Blood samples were collected two hours before, 24 hours and 30 days after surgery. Cases that required transfusion or diagnosed with postoperatory complications were eliminated from the analysis. Vitamin C was measured by the 2,4-dinitrophenyl hydrazine method and zinc by atomic spectroscopy. Hematological parameters were assessed using a Coulter cell counter. Data were analyzed through an ANOVA model for repeat measures. Results: No significant change in hemoglobin or hematocrite was observed after surgery in this study. Vitamin C in plasma and in leukocytes had a significant drop in the post-surgery evaluation. Zinc in plasma did not show any significant change. Conclusions: Findings from this project support observations in previous studies on the decrease of ascorbic acid levels in the post-surgery, probably due to oxidative stress. This drop is independent of the transoperatory blood loss. All indicators for vitamin C, zinc and iron showed significant increase in the 30 d post-surgery evaluation.

Keywords : Vitamin C; zinc; pregnancy; caesarean.