Correlation of Serum Magnesium Level with Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II Score in Patients Admitted to MICU of a Tertiary Care Center in Southern Bihar.

BACKGROUND: Serum magnesium is essential for maintaining cellular homeostasis and is commonly disrupted in critically ill patients as a result of sepsis, renal failure, and gastrointestinal losses. Serum magnesium is not often part of scoring systems used in intensive care units, like the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score, which helps measure how serious a disease is and predict death, even though it is important for body function.

OBJECTIVE: The objective is to assess the relationship between APACHE II scores and serum magnesium levels in patients admitted to the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional observational study was carried out over 24 months. Adult MICU patients with APACHE II scores >18 were included in the study. At admission, serum magnesium levels were measured, and 12 physiological parameters were used to calculate APACHE II scores. ANOVA and Pearson correlation tests were used to analyze the data.

RESULTS: Serum magnesium levels and APACHE II severity categories showed a significant inverse relationship (F = 20.752, P < 0.001). Serum magnesium and total APACHE II score showed the strongest negative correlation (r = -0.597, P < 0.001). Serum sodium (r = 0.245, P = 0.007) and packed cell volume (r = 0.383, P < 0.001) showed positive correlations.

CONCLUSION: According to the APACHE II scores, higher illness severity is substantially correlated with lower serum magnesium levels. In critically ill patients, serum magnesium may be a useful supplemental biomarker for risk assessment.