Magnesium status and magnesium therapy in cardiac surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis focusing on arrhythmia prevention

Abstract

Purpose To investigate magnesium as prophylaxis or treatment of postoperative arrhythmias in cardiac surgery (CS) patients. To assess impact on biochemical and patient-centered outcomes. Materials and methods We searched MEDLINE, CENTRAL and EMBASE electronic databases from 1975 to October 2015 using terms related to magnesium and CS. English-Language RCTs were included involving adults undergoing CS with parenterally administered magnesium to treat or prevent arrhythmias, compared to control or standard antiarrythmics. We extracted incidence of postoperative arrhythmias, termination following magnesium administration and secondary outcomes (including mortality, length of stay, hemodynamic p..