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Magnesium Load Test Finds Depletion in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis

Chronic terminal cirrhotics may be magnesium depleted, a factor that should be considered in cases of liver transplantation and other interventions.

However, spot serum ionized magnesium reveals depletion poorly, say researchers at Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.

They say the most reliable method for evaluating magnesium status is the magnesium loading test. In cases of depletion, uptake of magnesium is increased by 20-50 percent reaching a level of 6 percent of normal magnesium status; normally, it represents less than one percent of the total body magnesium.

Ten chronic cirrhotics listed for liver transplantation and six healthy controls were tested for magnesium loading using an infusion of 30 mmol magnesium sulphate. Urine magnesium was determined over 24 hours.

The researchers found that there was no difference in serum ionized magnesium. The loading test, however, found that uptake was 34 ± 26 percent in the cirrhotic patients, compared to 8 ± 8 percent in the control patents.
Clin Transplant 2002 Oct;16(5):325-8 "Magnesium depletion in chronic terminal liver cirrhosis."

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