• Alberto Zangrillo, Giovanni Landoni, Donatella Sparicio, Federico Pappalardo, Tiziana Bove, Elisa Cerchierini, Ornella Sottocorna, Giacomo Aletti, and Giuseppe Crescenzi.
• Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia, Vita-Salute University of Milano, Milan, Italy.
• J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. 2005 Dec 1;19(6):723-8.

ObjectiveAtrial fibrillation is a common complication after cardiac surgery. Magnesium is an effective and safe antiarrhythmic agent for arrhythmias that develop after cardiac surgery. The authors performed a study to evaluate the role of perioperative magnesium for prophylaxis of atrial fibrillation after off-pump coronary artery surgery.DesignRandomized controlled study.SettingUniversity teaching hospital.ParticipantsOne hundred sixty consecutive patients undergoing elective, isolated, off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting were prospectively randomized into 2 groups.InterventionsPatients in the magnesium group (n = 80) received a 2.5-g (20 mEq) magnesium sulphate infusion intraoperatively over 30 minutes, and the placebo group (n = 80) received normal saline solution.Measurements And Main ResultsPostoperative atrial fibrillation occurred in 16 of 80 patients (20%) in the magnesium group and in 18 of 80 (22.5%) in the placebo group (p = 0.9).ConclusionThe use of 2.5 g of intraoperative magnesium showed no effect in preventing atrial fibrillation after off-pump coronary artery bypass.

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