Hyopomagnesemia in Critically Ill Children

To investigate the incidence of hypomagnesemia, hypomagnesemia-associated risk factors, and the effect of hypomagnesemia effect on prognosis among patients followed at pediatric intensive care unit. This study enrolled patients who were admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit between January and December 2017. Patients' admission serum Mg level was measured, and a level below 1.8 mEq/L was considered hypomagnesemia. Patients with hypomagnesemia were grouped as group 1 and those with normal serum magnesium level as group 2. A total of 59 (39.9%) of the 148 patients were female and 89 (60.1%) were male; the mean age was 62.82 ± 72.8 (min: 2 – max: 245) months. Compared with the normomagnesemic patients, those with hypomagnesemia had a greater mean age (P: 0.04), PRISM score (P: 0.015), duration of intensive care unit stay, (P: 0.001), mechanical ventilator need (P: 0.016) and the number of days connected to mechanical ventilator (P: 0.027), having nasogastric drainage (P: 0.02), and mortality rate (P: 0.041). No significant difference was found between the groups with respect to diuretic use. Increase risk of hypomagnesemia by nasogastric drainage was not significant (P: 0.082). The rates of hypokalemia, hypocalcemia, hypophosphatemia, and hypoalbuminemia were significantly greater in group 1 (P < 0.05). Hypokalemia increased the risk of hypomagnesemia by 5.13 times, hypophosphatemia by 21.8 times, hypoalbuminemia by 5.12 times, and nasogastric drainage by 3.01 times. It should be noted that hypomagnesemia might be common and associated with mortality among patients admitted to pediatric intensive care units. Therefore, serum magnesium level should be closely monitored.