Friday 10 January 2014

An update on the importance of monitoring serum magnesium in advanced disease patients

Current Opinion in Supportive & Palliative Care, December 2013, vol./is. 7/4(396-405)
Centeno C, Lopez Saca JM 

Patients with advanced diseases are exposed to many causes of hypomagnesaemia, the most frequent being pharmacological causes through the administration of chemotherapy, antibiotics, proton pump inhibitors, and so on. Studies have shown a direct relationship between low levels of magnesium and nonspecific symptoms including pain that is difficult to control. The objective of this review is to demonstrate the importance of measuring magnesium levels in the blood of these patients.