Hyper Magnesemia

[Guest guest]

I posted this to Down-syn, but some folks don't read it. I'm not trying to

scare anyone or suggest anything about any therapy. Just highlighting the

need for caution.

j

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Fatal Hypermagnesemia in a Child Treated With

Megavitamin/Megamineral Therapy

K. McGuire, MD*; Mona Shah Kulkarni, MD‡; and P. Baden, MD*

ABSTRACT. We report a case of fatal hypermag-nesemia

resulting from the unsupervised use of high

doses of magnesium oxide administered as part of a

regimen of megavitamin and megamineral therapy to a

child with mental retardation, spastic quadriplegia, and

seizures. The treatment regimen was given at the recom-mendation

of a dietician working as a private nutritional

consultant without the involvement or notification of the

child’s pediatrician. Hypermagnesemia is an uncommon

but serious side effect of the use of magnesium contain-ing

compounds. These compounds are widely used as

laxatives and dietary supplements, and serious side ef-fects

are uncommon when used in appropriate dosages

and with adequate supervision.

The use of alternative medical therapies, including

megavitamin/megamineral therapy, is widespread. Many

patients use alternative medicine or seek care from alter-native

medicine practitioners without the recommenda-tion

or knowledge of their primary physicians. Despite

unproved benefit, many alternative therapies may be

safe. However, unsupervised use of generally safe treat-ments

can result in serious side effects. This case report

serves to illustrate the characteristic pathophysiologic

changes of severe hypermagnesemia, an entity rarely

seen in pediatric practice, and more importantly, it alerts

primary care and subspecialty pediatricians to be aware

of and monitor the use of alternative medical therapies in

their patients.

Pediatrics 2000;105(2).

The full article is available at:

URL: http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/105/2/e18