Assessment of Serum Magnesium Level in Surgical trauma Patients

If a person undergoing surgery, his serum magnesium levels must be done and supplementation must be done as the deficiency can be easily corrected and this will also prevent the further deficiency of magnesium postoperatively. With this background present study has been conducted with the aim to study the effect of surgical trauma on serum magnesium levels in the early postoperative period.

The total of 50 surgical cases was taken in account with equal number in control group. In the post operative period, the serum magnesium was noted and complications of altered serum magnesium in the form of hypomagnesaemia or hypomagnesaemia were noted. Hypomagnesaemia in the form of irritability, personality changes, muscular weakness, vertigo, tremors, convulsions and tetany was noted.

It was found that preoperatively the magnesium levels were found to be more as compared to the post operatively levels. It was found that magnesium levels were more in preoperative assessment as compared to the post operative assessment however when the difference was assessed it was not found to be significant with p > 0.05.

Only preoperative serum potassium levels were significantly predictive of hypomagnesaemia in adult general surgical patients requiring emergency laparotomy. Hypokalaemic adult general surgical patients requiring emergency laparotomy were found to be nine times more likely to develop hypomagnesaemia as compared to patients who were not hypokalaemic.