Magnesium Toxicity in an Obstetric Patient Due to Preeclampsia-Related Renal Dysfunction Despite Administration of a

Ndapewoshali L Pinehas1,2, Ambrose Rukewe3, Onochie U Nweze3

  • 1Department of Anaesthesia, Windhoek Central Hospital, Windhoek, NAM.

Cureus
|February 16, 2026
PubMed

Magnesium toxicity could occur in the treatment of preeclampsia/eclampsia, especially when the patient has coexisting renal impairment. If undetected and promptly treated, hypermagnesemia can cause severe fetomaternal complications and death. We present the case of a 22-year-old pregnant woman at 32 weeks of gestation, who was referred to our hospital with eclampsia, treated with intramuscular magnesium sulfate following a standard Pritchard regimen. An emergency cesarean section was carried out under general anesthesia due to multiorgan dysfunction. Following the cesarean delivery, she was successfully managed with mechanical ventilation and hemodialysis.

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