Utility of magnesium sulfate in the treatment of rapid atrial fibrillation in the emergency department: a systematic review and meta-analysis

• Published in: European journal of emergency medicine Vol. 29; no. 4; pp. 253 - 261
• Main Authors: Hoffer, Megan, Tran, Quincy K., Hodgson, Ryan, Atwater, Matthew, Pourmand, Ali
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved 01-08-2022
• ISSN: 0969-9546; 1473-5695
• DOI: 10.1097/MEJ.0000000000000941

Atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response (Afib/RVR) is a frequent reason for emergency department (ED) visits and can be treated with a variety of pharmacological agents. Magnesium sulfate has been used to prevent and treat postoperative Afib/RVR. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of magnesium for treatment of Afib/RVR in the ED. PubMed and Scopus databases were searched up to June 2021 to identify any relevant randomized trials or observational studies. We used Cochrane’s Risk-of-Bias tools to assess study qualities and random-effects meta-analysis for the difference of heart rate (HR) before and after treatment. Our search identified 395 studies; after reviewing 11 full texts, we included five randomized trials in our analysis. There were 815 patients with Afib/RVR; 487 patients (60%) received magnesium treatment, whereas 328 (40%) patients received control treatment. Magnesium treatment was associated with significant reduction in HR [standardized mean difference (SMD), 0.34; 95% CI, 0.21–0.47;
P
< 0.001;
I2
= 4%), but not associated with higher rates of sinus conversion (OR, 1.46; 95% CI, 0.726–2.94;
P
= 0.29), nor higher rates of hypotension and bradycardia (OR, 2.2; 95% CI, 0.62–8.09;
P
= 0.22). Meta-regressions demonstrated that higher maintenance dose (corr. coeff, 0.17;
P
= 0.01) was positively correlated with HR reductions, respectively. We observed that magnesium infusion can be an effective rate control treatment for patients who presented to the ED with Afib/RVR. Further studies with more standardized forms of control and magnesium dosages are necessary to assess the benefit/risk ratio of magnesium treatment, besides to confirm our observations.