ABSTRACT
A randomized clinical trial was conducted to compare the ratio of serum magnesium that achieved therapeutic levels and mean serum magnesium levels among patients diagnosed as cases of severe pre-eclampsia or eclampsia. Forty-nine patients met the inclusion criteria, i.e. single pregnancy, and no significant medical or surgical complications. The patients were assigned, by simple randomization, to either a 1 g (the first group, n=24) or 2 g/h (the second groups, n=25) maintenance dose of magnesium sulfate. Blood samples were obtained thrice, i.e. two and four hours after the loading dose and at two hours after delivery. Both groups were comparable according to age, gestational age, body weight, blood pressure, gravidity, parity, urine output per hour, serum BUN and creatinine, apgar score as well as patellar reflex. It was found that the first group had mean serum magnesium levels (+S.D.) at two and four hours after the loading dose and 2 hours after delivery of 3.50+0.32 mEq/L, 3.51+0.28 mEq/L, respectively. The second group had mean serum magnesium levels (+S.D.) at two and four hours after the loading dose and two hours after delivery of 4.53+0.37 mEq/L, 4.66+0.49 mEq/L and 4.79+0.45 mEq/L, respectively. The difference between mean serum magnesium levels of both groups at each interval, was statitistically significant (p=0.000). The rate of serum magnesium that achieved therapeutic levels at two and four hours after the loading dose and 2 hours after delivery were 8.7, 10 and 8.3 percent of blood samples from the first group and 100 percent of all blood samples from the second group. The difference between the rate of serum magnesium that achieved therapeutic levels in both groups at each interval that was obtained was statistically significant (p=0.000).