Saudi Med J
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Recent literature showed that development of hypomagnesemia is associated with higher mortality. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of magnesium supplementation on mortality rates of critically ill patients. ⋯ Daily magnesium supplementation index higher than 1 grm/day is associated with lower mortality rates for critically ill patients. This effect was not found to be independent and may be related to severity of illness. Given that magnesium levels were similar between the 2 groups of DMSI at almost all points of the study, magnesium supplementation per se may be beneficial in lowering mortality rates. The exact cause of this effect is unknown. An aggressive magnesium supplementation protocol may be warranted. A larger scale randomized study is necessary to evaluate this effect.