examining the frequency of hypomagnesemia in multiple trauma patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit

Background: electrolyte imbalance is one of the influential causes in determining the outcome of traumatic patients. one of the electrolytes that get less attention from healthcare providers is magnesium. therefore, this study investigated the frequency of hypomagnesemia in trauma patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit. methods: the descriptive-cross-sectional study was conducted after approval at zahedan university of medical sciences on 118 patients with multiple traumas from 2021 to 2022. patients were selected by convenience sampling method according to the inclusion criteria. age, sex, weight, body mass index, level of consciousness, and level of blood serum electrolytes were measured and recorded on the first and fifth days after hospitalization. the data were analyzed and compared using descriptive statistics, chi-square, and independent t-test. results: of 118 patients studied, 81 (68.6%) were male, and 38 (31.4%) were female. on the fifth day after hospitalization, the mean serum magnesium level of the patients was 1.4 ± 0.81 mg/dl. 87 patients (73.7%) had normal magnesium serum levels, 27 patients (29.9%) had hypomagnesemia, and 4 patients (3.4%) had severe hypomagnesemia. no statistically significant relationship existed between hypomagnesemia and gender, age group, and comorbidity diseases. the level of other blood serum electrolytes on the fifth day after hospitalization, age, weight, body mass index, and status of consciousness was not statistically significant between the two groups of patients with hypomagnesemia and without hypomagnesemia. conclusion: trauma and the subsequent treatment measures lead to decreased magnesium serum levels in intensive care patients. therefore, the normal serum level of other electrolytes should not be considered a diagnostic indicator for the normality of magnesium serum level. magnesium should be measured along with other electrolytes to make a timely decision to replace magnesium supplements in a patient with hypomagnesemia.