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Hypermagnesemia: Elderly Over-the-counter Drug Users at Risk
Michael Shechter, MD, MA
Preventive & Rehabilitative Cardiac Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Los Angeles, Calif
Arch Fam Med. 1996;5(6):323.
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Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings. |
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The article by Fung et al1 published in the August 1995 issue of the ARCHIVES probably created public panic unnecessarily. The 69-yearold woman with hypermagnesemia most likely had abnormal renal function when she consumed the bottles of magnesium-containing antacids. From the case report, the estimated creatinine clearance,2 calculated from age, sex, and serum creatinine levels, was 0.47 mL/s (28.3 mL/min) (normal range, 0.76-1.19 mL/s [45.7-71.4 mL/min]), suggesting that this patient did indeed have impaired renal function. A patient with normal kidney function secretes magnesium rapidly through the kidneys. In a normal state, the kidney filters approximately 2.5 g of magnesium and reclaims 95%, excreting some 100 mg/d in the urine to maintain homeostasis. Approximately 25% to 30% is reclaimed in the proximal tube through a passive transport system that depends on sodium reabsorption and tubular fluid flow. Usually, as serum magnesium concentration increases, there is a linear
. . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]
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