Ionized or Total Magnesium levels, what should we measure in critical ill patients?

G Scarpati1, D Baldassarre1, F Oliva1

  • 1University of Salerno.

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When atoms gain or lose electrons to achieve a more stable electron configuration they form ions. Ionic bonds are electrostatic attractions between ions with opposite charges. Ionic compounds are rigid and brittle when solid and may dissociate into their constituent ions in water. Covalent compounds, by contrast, remain intact unless a chemical reaction breaks them.
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