Perioperative magnesium supplementation to prevent atrial fibrillation after off-pump coronary artery surgery: a randomized controlled study

OBJECTIVE: Atrial fibrillation is a common complication after cardiac surgery. Magnesium is an effective and safe antiarrhythmic agent for arrhythmias that develop after cardiac surgery. The authors performed a study to evaluate the role of perioperative magnesium for prophylaxis of atrial fibrillation after off-pump coronary artery surgery. DESIGN: Randomized controlled study. SETTING: University teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred sixty consecutive patients undergoing elective, isolated, off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting were prospectively randomized into 2 groups. INTERVENTIONS: Patients in the magnesium group (n = 80) received a 2.5-g (20 mEq) magnesium sulphate infusion intraoperatively over 30 minutes, and the placebo group (n = 80) received normal saline solution. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Postoperative atrial fibrillation occurred in 16 of 80 patients (20%) in the magnesium group and in 18 of 80 (22.5%) in the placebo group (p = 0.9). CONCLUSION: The use of 2.5 g of intraoperative magnesium showed no effect in preventing atrial fibrillation after off-pump coronary artery bypass.