Serum Magnesium May Be a Biological Marker of Liver Cirrhosis: A Prospective Observational Study

Abstract Background: Although its precise role in the etiology of liver cirrhosis/end-stage liver disease and other liver-related illnesses is still unclear, magnesium is a crucial component of human body metabolism. Magnesium deficiency is becoming a common phenomenon in recent years, but among critically ill patients, it has always remained a matter of concern affecting up to 65% of the cases. Methods: In this prospective observational study, 100 patients of cirrhosis during the period of December 2020 to November 2022 were enrolled. Child–Pugh score and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score were calculated at the time of admission. A correlation of serum magnesium levels with these scores was assessed. Serum magnesium was also correlated with etiology of cirrhosis and complication of cirrhosis such as portal hypertension, hepatic encephalopathy, and hepatorenal syndrome and outcome of cirrhosis with hospital stay. Results: Patients with hypomagnesemia, normomagnesemia, and hypermagnesemia were 73, 25, and 2, respectively. The mean value of hypomagnesemia was 1.30 ± 0.17 mg/dl; normomagnesemia had 1.83 ± 0.14 mg/dl, and hypermagnesemia had 2.60 ± 0.14 mg/dl. The proportion of patients with hepatic encephalopathy was substantially higher in those with hypomagnesemia compared to those with normomagnesemia and hypermagnesemia ( Z = 3.65; P = 0.0016). Patients with hypomagnesemia had substantially more patients with Child–Pugh Class 10 (C) than patients with normomagnesemia and hypermagnesemia ( Z = 10.78; P = 0.0001). When compared to patients with normomagnesemia (0.0%) and hypermagnesemia (0.0%), individuals with hypomagnesemia (17.8%) had a significantly higher proportion of deaths ( Z = 4.44; P = 0.0001). Conclusions: Portal hypertension, hepatic encephalopathy, and hepatorenal syndrome were significantly associated with serum magnesium. Serum magnesium can be a noninvasive and cost-effective tool for assessing etiology, complication, and prognosis of cirrhosis of liver.