Critical Care

official impact factor 4.60

Commentary

Selenium supplementation in critically ill patients: can too much of a good thing be a bad thing?

Daren K Heyland

Author Affiliations

Clinical Evaluation Research Unit, Angada 4 Kingston General Hospital, Kingston, ON K7L 2V7, Canada

Critical Care 2007, 11:153 doi:10.1186/cc5975


See related research by Forceville et al., http://ccforum.com/content/11/4/R73

Published: 7 August 2007

Abstract

A recent study by Forceville and colleagues evaluated the effect of high-dose selenium administration as a treatment for septic shock. The study was negative and conflicts with existing clinical data regarding selenium administration in critically ill patients. Perhaps the key to understanding the differences between these discrepant observations lies in considering the dose and timing of selenium administration.