Correlation of serum magnesium levels with clinical outocomes in critically ill patients admitted to medical ICU

Ravi Kumar Patel; Abhinav Nair

Volume : VII, Issue : VIII, August - 2018

Correlation of serum magnesium levels with clinical outocomes in critically ill patients admitted to medical ICU

Ravi Kumar Patel, Abhinav Nair

Abstract :

Hypomagnesemia is one the most frequently underdiagnosed electrolyte disorders, especially in critically ill patients. It is a critical ion essential for life , serving as a cofactor for more than 300 enzymatic reactions, with involvement in the formation of ATP. An estimated 20 to 65 % patients with critical illnesses admitted to medical Intensive Care units (ICU) develop hypomagnesemia, thus emphasizing the importance of its detection and management. This was a prospective observational study. A total of 50 critically ill patients who were admitted to the Intensive Care units(ICU) under the department of general medicine and who fulfilled inclusion and exclusion criteria were studied. Serum magnesium levels along with other investigations were done within first 24 hours of admission. It was found in the study that 30 out of 50 such patients (i.e.60%) had hypomagnesemia, 15 out of 50 patients(i.e. 30%) had normomagnesemia and 5 out of 50 patients (i.e. 10%) had hypermagnesemia. The patients with hypomagnesemia compared with normomagnesemia, had a higher mortality rate (43. 33% vs13.33 ). Thus, Hypomagnesemia was seen to be associated with a higher mortality rate in critically ill patients admitted in medical ICU, compared to patients with normal magnesium levels.