Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2022 May;10(5):1238-1246.
doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2021.11.028. Epub 2021 Dec 13.

Prospective Observational Study of Clinical Outcomes After Intravenous Magnesium for Moderate and Severe Acute Asthma Exacerbations in Children

Affiliations
Observational Study

Prospective Observational Study of Clinical Outcomes After Intravenous Magnesium for Moderate and Severe Acute Asthma Exacerbations in Children

Donald H Arnold et al. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2022 May.

Abstract

Background: There is limited knowledge regarding whether intravenous magnesium (IV-Mg) improves outcomes in children with acute asthma exacerbations.

Objective: To examine whether IV-Mg improves outcomes in children with moderate and severe exacerbations.

Methods: We performed a secondary analysis using data from a prospective observational cohort of children aged 5 to 17 years with moderate and severe exacerbations. Standardized treatment included systemic corticosteroid and inhaled albuterol, with consideration of IV-Mg (75 mg/kg) for patients with insufficient response after 20 minutes. Propensity score (PS) models were used to examine associations of IV-Mg treatment with change in the validated Acute Asthma Intensity Research Score, hospitalization rate, and time to spacing of inhaled albuterol of 4 hours or more among hospitalized participants.

Results: Among 301 children, median (interquartile range) age was 8.1 (6.4-10.2) years, 170 were Black (57%), 201 were male (67%), and 84 received IV-Mg (28%). In a PS covariate-adjusted multivariable linear regression model, IV-Mg treatment was associated with a 2-hour increase in the Acute Asthma Intensity Research Score (β-coefficient = 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.20-1.77), indicating increased exacerbation severity. Three additional PS-based models yielded similar results. Participants receiving IV-Mg had 5.8-fold (95% CI, 2.8-11.9) and 6.8-fold (95% CI, 3.6-12.9) greater odds of hospitalization in PS-based multivariable regression models. Among hospitalized participants, there was no difference in time to albuterol of every 4 hours or more in a PS covariate-adjusted Cox proportional hazards model (hazard ratio = 1.2; 95% CI, 0.8-1.8).

Conclusions: Among children with moderate and severe exacerbations, IV-Mg is associated with increased exacerbation severity, increased risk for hospitalization, and no acceleration in exacerbation resolution among hospitalized participants.

Keywords: Acute asthma exacerbation; Children; IV magnesium.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. The Acute Asthma Intensity Research Score (AAIRS)
SCM, Sternocleidomastoid * Any visible use of accessory muscle group (Yes/No) Severity levels: mild 1-6; moderate 7-11; severe 12-16 Adapted from: Acad Emerg Med. 2015 Oct;22(10):E25-6.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Flow diagram of study participants.
AAIRS, acute asthma intensity research score; ED, emergency department; IV-Mg, intravenous magnesium; PICU, pediatric intensive care unit.

Comment in

References

    1. National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Expert Panel Report 3: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma. National Asthma Education and Prevention Program. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 2007.
    1. Cloutier MM, Baptist AP, Blake KV, Brooks EG, Bryant-Stephens T, DiMango E, et al. 2020 Focused Updates to the Asthma Management Guidelines: A Report from the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Coordinating Committee Expert Panel Working Group. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2020; 146:1217–70. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brunton L, Hilal-Dandan R, Knollman B. Goodman & Gilman’s The Pharmacologic Basis of Therapeutics, Thirteenth Edition. New York: McGraw Hill.; 2018.
    1. Griffiths B, Kew KM. Intravenous magnesium sulfate for treating children with acute asthma in the emergency department. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2016; 4:Cd011050. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mittal V, Hall M, Antoon J, Gold J, Kenyon C, Parikh K, et al. Trends in Intravenous Magnesium Use and Outcomes for Status Asthmaticus in Children’s Hospitals from 2010 to 2017. J Hosp Med 2020; 15:403–6. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types