Does Magnesium Improve Cardiac Arrest Outcomes?

Despite many advancements in CPR technique, survival after cardiac arrest remains at roughly 15% and has not improved significantly in the past 37 years. This prospective, double-blind trial examined the usefulness of magnesium during resuscitation after inpatient cardiac arrest.

Researchers at Duke University randomized 76 patients in cardiac arrest to a 2 g bolus of magnesium sulfate, followed by 8 g over 24 hours, and 80 patients to placebo. Fifty-four percent of the magnesium group and 48% of the placebo group had a return of spontaneous circulation, defined as a pulse for at least 60 minutes. At 24 hours, survival was 43% in the magnesium group and 50% in the placebo group, and 21% of each group survived to discharge. No differences wer…