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05:31
Noninvasive Sampling of Mucosal Lining Fluid for the Quantification of In Vivo Upper Airway Immune-mediator Levels
Published on: August 7, 2017
Magnesium concentration in acute asthmatic children
Maha Amin1, Mohammed Abdel-Fattah, Safa S Zaghloul
1Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt.
Iranian Journal of Pediatrics
|February 23, 2013
Summary
Erythrocytic magnesium levels are significantly lower in children with acute asthma and correlate with severity. Treatment for asthma attacks increases these levels, unlike plasma magnesium.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Clinical Biochemistry
- Environmental Health
Background:
- Magnesium (Mg) plays a role in acute asthma pathogenesis.
- Erythrocytic Mg levels are hypothesized to decrease during acute asthma exacerbations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate plasma and erythrocytic Mg levels in children experiencing acute asthma.
- To compare Mg levels in asthmatic children with healthy controls.
- To assess the impact of treatment on Mg levels in acute asthma.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study involving 30 Egyptian outpatients with acute asthma and 30 healthy matched controls.
- Measurement of plasma and erythrocytic Mg levels before and after treatment in all participants.
Main Results:
- No significant difference in plasma Mg between asthmatic children and controls.
- Significantly reduced erythrocytic Mg in asthmatic children compared to controls (1.06±0.43 vs 2.57±0.59 mmol/L).
- Erythrocytic Mg significantly increased after treatment (1.06±0.43 to 1.56±0.23 mmol/L) and negatively correlated with asthma severity (rho = -0.647).
Conclusions:
- Erythrocytic Mg is significantly lower during acute asthma and correlates with exacerbation severity.
- Plasma Mg levels do not significantly change during acute asthma.
- Rescue treatment significantly elevates erythrocytic Mg levels in asthmatic children.
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