Clinical characteristics of hypomagnesemia in adult patients

Abstract

Introduction: The causes of hypomagnesemia are diverse: decreased intake, redistribution or translocation of extracellular to intracellular magnesium, gastrointestinal loss and kidney loss. The objective was to determine the clinical characteristics of hypomagnesemia in patients admitted to the Internal Medicine Department of the National Hospital (Itauguá, Paraguay) in the period 2018 - 2019. Materials and methods: We conducted an observational, descriptive, retrospective design. We included adult patients with serum Mg ≤ 1.5 mg / dL. We measured demographic variables, neuromuscular, metabolic and electrocardiographic clinical manifestations. The research was approved by the Ethics Committee of the National University of Itapúa (Paraguay). Results: Hypomagnesemia was detected in 8.2% of the patients. Their mean age was 55 years and 53% were male. The most frequent comorbidities were hypertension (63%), diabetes mellitus (30%) and chronic kidney disease (16%). Hypomagnesemia was presented with vomiting (34%), diarrhea (13%), and use of omeprazole (97%), furosemide (31%) and corticosteroids (24%). The predominant symptoms were anxiety (9%) and muscle spasms (8%). Common electrocardiographic abnormalities were atrial fibrillation (11%), repolarization disorders (18%) and prolongation of the QRS complex (9%). Conclusion: We detected hypomagnesemia in 8.2% of patients and was presented with vomiting (34%), diarrhea (13%), use of omeprazole (97%), furosemide (31%) and corticosteroids (24%).