Serum Magnesium Level of Patients Admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Prospective Analytical Study

Background: The mean prevalence of hypomagnesemia in pediatric intensive care units is 18-44% in different studies. In patients with hypomagnesemia compared to patients with normal magnesium levels, there is a significant difference in terms of mortality, duration of hospitalization and ICU stay, the need for mechanical ventilation and its duration. The aim of this study was assessing the prevalence of hypomagnesemia in PICU and the impact of it on patients’ prognosis. Methods: The current study was a prospective analytical study. Ninety patients between 1 month and 12 years old were included. A detailed medical history, clinical examination and on admission magnesium level were performed on all patients. The prognoses of the patients were evaluated by the length of PICU and hospital stay, the duration of mechanical ventilation and mortality. Results: The mean concentration of magnesium level was 1.9±0.2 mg/dl; and 91.1% of patients were normomagnesemia and 5.6% were hypomagnesemia. The average duration of PICU stay in this study was about 8.1±3.8 days and the average duration of need for ventilator was 2.0±6.9 days. Only 18.9% of patients needed mechanical ventilation. Magnesium level was not correlated with PICU stay, need for mechanical ventilation, mortality and other electrolyte concentrations except for serum phosphorus. Conclusion: The prevalence of hypomagnesaemia in pediatric patients admitted to the PICU is variable in different centers, so it is recommended that magnesium concentration levels be checked routinely and corrected if necessary.