Abstract

Abstract. Backgrounds. Magnesium has been known for its antioxidative and antiinflammatory properties in many studies. In this study two dosing regimens of magnesium were compared with a placebo control group in order to investigate safety and efficacy of high doses of intravenous magnesium sulfate infusion on critically ill trauma patients. Inflammatory and oxidative factors were measured in this trial. Methods. 45 trauma patients with systemic inflammatory response syndromes (SIRS) were randomly assigned into 2 treatment and one placebo groups. The high dose group received 15g MgSO4, low dose group received 7.5g of MgSO4 over 4hour infusion, and placebo group received saline alone. The initial and post magnesium sulfate injections levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-), total antioxidant power and lipid peroxidation were measured after 6, 18 and 36hours. The pre-infusion along with 6 and 36hour level of microalbuminuria were also determined. Results: Repeated measurements illustrated that there was no significant difference in TNF-, total antioxidant power and lipid peroxidation levels among groups during the period of analysis. The microalbuminuria at 36hour post infusion of high dose group was lower than that of control group (p=0.024). Patients mortality (28day) was similar among all treatment groups. Both magnesium infusion groups tolerated the drug without experiencing any complications. Conclusion: No evidence for antioxidative and antiinflammatory effects of magnesium in traumatic SIRS positive patients was found. Magnesium in high doses may be recommended for traumatic patients with SIRS status to prevent microalbuminuria. © 2012 Mirrahimi et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.