Early studies have reported various electrolyte abnormalities at admission in patients with severe COVID-19. 104 out of 193 patients admitted to our institution presented with hypermagnesemia at presentation. It is believed this may be important in the evaluation of severe SARS-CoV-2 infections. This study evaluated the outcomes of hypermagnesemia in patients with COVID-19. A retrospective chart review of patients admitted to the hospital with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection was conducted. A review of the medical literature regarding hypermagnesemia, magnesium levels in critical care illness and electrolyte abnormalities in patients with COVID-19 was performed. Differences in demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with hypermagnesemia and normomagnesemia were evaluated using descriptive statistics. Other known variables of disease severity were analyzed. 104 patients (54%) were identified with hypermagnesemia (≥2.5 mg/dL). 48 of those patients were admitted to the intensive care unit (46%, p<0.001). 34 patients required ventilator support (32%, p<0.0001). With age-adjusted logistic regression analysis hypermagnesemia was associated with mortality (p=0.007). This study demonstrates that hypermagnesemia is a significant marker of disease severity and adverse outcome in SARS-CoV-2 infections. We recommend serum magnesium be added to the panel of tests routinely ordered in evaluation of severe SARS-CoV-2 infections.
Ovarian vein thrombosis (OVT) was first described in 1956 and is well known for its association with gynecological malignancy, pregnancy, postpartum, pelvic diseases, surgeries, and other thrombophilic etiologies. Most commonly OVT presents on the right ovarian vein. We report a rare case of a 47-year-old Caucasian female G7P7 with no significant past medical history who presented to the emergency room for acute nonspecific back pain and left lower quadrant pain of 1 day. Imaging with a computed tomography with contrast demonstrated a new left OVT. After a thorough literature review, this is presumed to be the third reported case of idiopathic left OVT.
The incidence of wound botulism in injection drug users has increased since the introduction of black tar heroin. Many species of the Clostridium genus, most commonly Clostridium botulinum, Clostridium baratii, and Clostridium butyricum, have been associated with wound botulism. Patients often present with progressive bulbar weakness, including dysphagia, cranial nerve palsies, and loss of speech, in addition to symmetrical descending weakness of the upper extremities that may progress to the chest and lower extremities. In this article, we present 3 cases of wound botulism, in which the patients presented with bulbar weakness and were treated with botulism antitoxin heptavalent. The time to antitoxin administration and its effect on the patients’ clinical courses is compared.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.