There is increasing evidence that particular nutritional substrates may be important in critically ill patients and in recent years there has been growing interest in selenium. This review aims to outline the incidence of selenium deficiency in critically ill patients, the consequences of such a deficiency and present the evidence for, and effect of, selenium supplementation in these patients. Selenium levels fall during periods of oxidative stress as occurs in critically ill patients with conditions such as severe sepsis, burns, and following trauma. Data from individual studies and meta-analyses suggests that selenium is an important adjuvant therapy in certain critically ill patients and supplementation of selenium may offer a mortality benefit.
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