Magnesium Deficiency and its Relationship with the Prognosis of Sepsis in Intensive Care Unit

Introduction: Magnesium plays an important role in more than 600 metabolic reactions. The frequency of magnesium deficiency may be as high as 60%, especially in patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU). In this study, the relationship between magnesium deficiency and mortality, clinical course and outcomes in patients who developed sepsis in the ICU is examined.
Material and Methods: This retrospective study was carried out in the ICU of a university hospital between January 2020 and December 2021. Patients were divided into two groups based on magnesium levels. Between groups, patients’ demographics, physical examination, culture, and laboratory data were compared. All-cause mortality data in the first 28 days after admission to ICU were inspected.
Results: In 27 (33.7%) of all participants, magnesium deficiency was documented. Magnesium deficiency was more frequent in females (48.5%, p=0.013). Diabetes mellitus was more frequent in the hypomagnesemia group, compared with the group with normal magnesium levels (p=0.028). Platelet counts were higher in the magnesium deficiency group (p=0.036). The mortality rate of whole study groups after 28 days of admission to the ICU was 56.2% and was similar in study groups.
Discussion and Conclusion: Between groups, clinical courses, the length of stay in the ICU, and mortality rates were similar. To understand the relationship between magnesium levels and sepsis, further studies in prospective design that contain a larger number of participants and inspect intracellular magnesium levels will be beneficial.

Keywords: Magnesium deficiency; Sepsis; Platelet count; Mortality; Intensive care unit