Hypomagnesaemia in elderly hospital admissions: a study of clinical significance
Martin, B.J.; Black, J.; Mclelland, A.S.
Quarterly Journal of Medicine 78(286): 177-184
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 0033-5622 PMID: 2031079 Document Number: 386194
Serum magnesium estimations carried out on 1576 consecutive elderly patients at the time of hospital admission revealed that 10.7 per cent had a serum magnesium level below 0.7 mmol/l, with 4.4 per cent of the total having a serum level less than 0.65 mmol/l. Hypokalemia was frequently associated with hypomagnesemia, for which diuretic therapy was the most commonly found predisposing factor. Outcome of illness, measured at six months in terms of mortality, duration of hosptial stay and percentage of patients discharged from hospital, was no worse in patients admitted with hypomagnesemia than in normomagnesemic controls.