Objective To assess the systematic reviews of magnesium sulfate used to treat severe asthma.
Methods An electronic search was performed in The Cochrane Library (Issue 2, 2008), ACP Journal Club (1991 to June 2008), MEDLINE (1990 to June 2008), Chinese Journal Full-text Database (1979 to June 2008), Chinese Scientific and Technological Periodical Databases (VIP) (1980 to June 2008), and Chinese Bio-medicine Database (CBM) (1980 to June 2008) to collect systematic reviews of magnesium sulfate treatment for severe asthma. The retrieved systematic reviews were reassessed, and then we adopted the evidence for clinical practice.
Results Nine systematic reviews were included, and all of them included 14.1 ± 2.9 items of QUOROM (the quality of reporting of Meta-analyses) on average. In general, the included systematic reviews had comparatively high quality. Evidence illustrated that intravenous infusion of magnesium sulfate could improve pulmonary function and reduce hospital admission without any serious side effects. However, no evidence could verify that patients with asthma can benefit from aerosolized and oral magnesium sulfate. In a specific case with severe asthma, we used magnesium sulfate via intravenous infusion which helped the control of symptoms with no adverse reactions.
Conclusion Magnesium sulfate via intravenous infusion can improve pulmonary function and reduce hospital admission rates. Due to its effectiveness, safety, and low cost, it deserves widespread application in patients with severe asthma.
Citation: FU Juanjuan,MAO Bin. Clinical Evidence for Magnesium Sulfate Treatment of Severe Asthma. Chinese Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine, 2008, 08(12): 1126-1129. doi: 10.7507/1672-2531.20080243 Copy