The JPHC CE article for the Sep/Oct issue is now available! 

Magnesium Treatment in Pediatric Patients

0.75 NAPNAP Contact Hour of which contains 0.75 pharmacology content.. This continuing education activity is offered free to National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) Members. For non- members, this continuing education activity rate is $10. Magnesium is the second most abundant intracellular cation in the body, and the fourth most abundant cation. Sixty percent of total body magnesium is stored in bone, 20% is located in skeletal muscle and the remaining 20% is distributed in various organ tissues, including the kidney, liver, and heart (Grober, Schmidt, & Kisters, 2015). Approximately 0.3% of magnesium is found in the serum (Grober et al., 2015). Therefore, determination of the serum magnesium concentration remains the best readily available test for magnesium deficiency, although it provides only an estimate of total body magnesium stores.This review article provides an overview of key disease states in pediatric patients where magnesium is part of the treatment. The treatment of hypomagnesemia and hypermagnesemia will be described, with review of dosing and timing of magnesium administration. J Pediatr Health Care. (2021) 35, 564-571.