Comparison of maternal serum magnesium level in eclampsia, preeclampsia and normal pregnant women admitted to El-Shatby Maternity Hospital

Background: Preeclampsia is a pregnancy multisystem disorder of unknown etiology. It is a significant cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Magnesium may be physiologically important in blood pressure regulation whereas changes in magnesium levels could contribute to the patho-etiology of hypertension. Objective: comparison of the level of serum magnesium between preeclamptic, eclamptic patients and normal pregnant women. Materials and Methods: This case-control study was conducted on 250 patients at EL-Shatby Maternity University Hospital. 100 cases were preeclamtic, 100 cases were eclamptic and 50 cases were normal pregnancy (control group) . Results: Serum magnesium was higher in eclamptic and preeclamptic women compared to normal pregnant women. In eclampsia serum magnesium was markedly reduced than in pre-eclampsia. Conclusion : Serum magnesium is lower in PET cases versus normal pregnant cases. This might supported the hypothesis that Mg deficiency might be the causative factor in the development of preeclampsia and eclampsia.