Evaluation of Serum Selenium and Erythrocyte Glutathione Peroxidase Levels in Patients with Recurrent Tonsillitis

The aim of this study is to investigate serum selenium (Se) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels in patients with recurrent tonsillitis. The study included 53 patients with recurrent tonsillitis and 51 healthy children. The measurement of serum Se levels were done in graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometer using Zeeman background correction. Erythrocyte GSH-Px levels were indirectly measured by using the spectrophotometry. The ages of children in both groups ranged between 3 and 13 years, with a mean age of 7.60 years for patient group and 7.22 years for control group. Mean serum Se levels in patient and control groups were 60.4 and 78.7 µg/dL respectively. Mean erythrocyte GSH-Px levels in patient and control groups were 7.0 and 23.1 U/g hb, respectively. The mean blood Se and GSH-Px levels in patients with recurrent tonsillitis were significantly (P < 0.001) lower than control group. In our study, we found that serum Se and erythrocyte GSH-Px levels of cases with recurrent tonsillitis were significantly lower than healthy controls. The decline in serum Se and erythrocyte GSH-Px enzyme levels may predispose a chronic disease state but this issue needs further investigation.