RESUMO
Serum magnesium, calcium, sodium, potassium and urea were studied in 60 patients comprising 3 groups of 20 patients each. The first group included patients subjected to abdominal surgery and in whom the bowel sounds were delayed for more than 72 hours, with no passage of flatus or stools. The second group were also post-abdominal operation patients, but who restored the bowel function within 3 days. The third group were rather healthy volunteers. The levels of serum magnesium were lower in both postoperative groups, comparing with the control, but the differences were statistically insignificant. Similarly, there were no significant differences in the levels of serum calcium, sodium and urea between the 3 groups. On the other hand, the serum potassium levels were significantly lower in the ileus groups, when compared with the non-ileus postoperative cases or with the control [P <0.05]