DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2019.v07i02.022

Pages: 539-542

Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral and the second most abundant intracellular divalent cation, yet its deficiency in critically ill‑patients is frequently overlooked. Present study was to assess the impact of serum magnesium levels on outcomes in critically ill elderly patients in whom aging itself is a comorbidity. It was a prospective observational study, which involved 130 patients aged 60 years and older from both the medical and surgical ICUs. The subjects studied were monitored for serum magnesium levels on Day 1 of intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Patients were divided into 3 groups i.e normomagnesemic, hypomagnesemic and hypermagnesemic depending on the serum magnesium levels and compared for various parameters.Results of our study showed 47cases (36.15%) had normal magnesium levels (Group1), 80 (61.5%) cases had low magnesium levels (Group2), 3 (2.30%) patients had high magnesium levels(Group3). Mean ICU stay in our study was 5.10 ± 2.05 and 5.7 ± 1.95 days for Group1 and Group 2 respectively (P > 0.05). Other associated findings were the electrolyte abnormalities such as hypokalemia, hyponatremia, hypocalcemia and hypophosphatemia. Group 2 patients were associated with higher mortality rate as compared to Group 1&3.We conclude that critically ill elderly patients have a high prevalence of hypomagnesemia and these patients were associated with higher mortality rate and had no impact on the duration of medical intensive care unit stay in our study. Physicians should be alert to the high incidence of hypomagnesemia in these patients and should monitor it regularly, as it may help in reducing the adverse clinical outcomes of hypomagnesemia.