Data were collected and analyzed to determine the following: prevalence and incidence of [Mg2+](s) abnormalities, medical disorders associated with altered [Mg2+](s), association of altered [Mg2+](s) with other electrolyte abnormalities, length of hospitalization for cats with abnormalities of [Mg2+](s) versus those with normal [Mg2+](s), and survival of cats with abnormal [Mg2+](s) versus those with normal [Mg2+](s).
The point prevalence of magnesium abnormalities was 26%, the period prevalence was 46%, and the cumulative incidence was 23%.
Hypermagnesemia was associated with abnormalities of serum potassium (P = .04) and phosphate (P = .01) concentrations.
Abnormalities of [Mg2+](s) were not associated with abnormal serum concentrations of Na+, Ca2+, or Cl-. On admission, hypomagnesemia was detected in cats with gastrointestinal, endocrine, and other disorders; hypermagnesemia was detected only in cats with renal disease, obstructive Uropathy, or neoplastic disease.
The median hospital stay for cats that developed abnormal [Mg2+](s) after admission was longer than for cats that remained nor momagnesemic (5 versus 4 days, respectively; P = .03). Despite the longer hospital stay, the survival of these cats was lower than that of normomagnesemic cats (54 versus 77%; P = .05).
When all cats were considered, the survival of cats with abnormal [Mg2+](s) also was decreased compared with normomagnesemic cats (62 versus 81%; P = .05).
We conclude that abnormalities of [Mg2+](s) may affect morbidity and mortality of affected cats.
Source: J Toll, H Erb, N Birnbaum, T Schermerhorn (2002): Prevalence and incidence of serum magnesium abnormalities in hospitalized cats. In:
Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 2002, Vol 16, Iss 3, pp 217-221
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