Folklore, personal preference, or research-based practice.

Hypomagnesemia is seen in 11% of the normal hospital population and in up to 65% of severely ill patients, and can have many causes. The clinical picture may comprise the signs of Chvostek and Trousseau, paraesthesias, tremor and convulsions, although asymptomatic hypomagnesemia is seen most often. Hypomagnesemia can be treated by parenteral or oral administration of magnesium, guided by the serum magnesium level. Parenteral magnesium suppletion is indicated if the concentration is below 0.5 mmol/l or in the presence of symptoms of hypomagnesemia. In patients with magnesium concentrations between 0.5 and 0.7 mmol/l and a deficient diet or malabsorption, prolonged therapy is sometimes necessary. In such cases, oral Mg-containing antacids in a normal dosage regimen may be a good choice, but clinical proof is still lacking. In case of renal insufficiency or constipation the magnesium dose should be lowered, while in hypophosphatemia oral antacids are contra-indicated.

Critical Illness↗

PubMed2002

Delirium in critically ill patients.

Delirium in the intensive care unit is a serious problem that has recently attracted much attention. User-friendly and reliable tools, such as the Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU), offer the clinician the opportunity to identify delirium in patients better. Diagnosis of delirium in a critical care population is often a difficult task because classical psychiatric evaluation is impossible for a number of reasons. The CAM-ICU makes use of nonverbal assessments to evaluate the cardinal features of delirium (i.e. acute or fluctuating onset, inattention, disorganized thinking and altered level of consciousness). Its development for use in the critical care setting represents a significant advance that could lead to better care for such patients.

Critical Illness↗