As mentioned in conference recently, we have years of various studies on the use of Magnesium Sulfate in COPD and asthma. See below a Cochrane review on asthma.

But right after conference, I checked my email to find hot off the press in Annals of EM, a brief review on Mag in COPD.

Take-Home Message

Among patients with an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, intravenous magnesium sulfate may be associated with fewer hospital admissions, reduced hospital length of stay, and improved dyspnea scores.

Here is the Cochrane review on Mag in Asthma. Authors’ conclusions: This review provides evidence that a single infusion of 1.2 g or 2 g IV MgSO4 over 15 to 30 minutes reduces hospital admissions and improves lung function in adults with acute asthma who have not responded sufficiently to oxygen, nebulised short-acting beta2-agonists and IV corticosteroids. Differences in the ways the trials were conducted made it difficult for the review authors to assess whether severity of the exacerbation or additional co-medications altered the treatment effect of IV MgSO4. Limited evidence was found for other measures of benefit and safety.Studies conducted in these populations should clearly define baseline severity parameters and systematically record adverse events. Studies recruiting participants with exacerbations of varying severity should consider subgrouping results on the basis of accepted severity classifications.