Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42391217›Full record

ArticlePloS one2026

Supplementation of calcium, magnesium, phosphate, and potassium in critically ill patients: A multicenter cohort study.

Christopher J Yarnell, Thomas Bodley, Anica C Law, George Tomlinson, Emily A Vail, Nicholas A Bosch

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Christopher J YarnellDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, Scarborough Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5657-9398
Thomas BodleyDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, Scarborough Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Anica C LawThe Pulmonary Center, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
George TomlinsonDepartment of Medicine, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9328-6399
Emily A VailDepartment of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1849-5780
Nicholas A BoschThe Pulmonary Center, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo investigate hospital-level variation in the supplementation of calcium, magnesium, phosphate, and potassium in critically ill patients.

designRetrospective cohort study.

settingPremier Healthcare Database of inpatients from the USA. PATIENTS: Adults (age ≥ 18 years) admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) on hospital day 1 between October 1, 2022 and July 31, 2024, who had at least one calcium (total or ionized), magnesium, phosphate, or potassium level measured in an ICU between day 2 and 28. We excluded patients with renal failure, a pregnancy-related diagnosis, and intracranial bleeding on admission.

interventionsCalcium, magnesium, phosphate, or potassium supplementation. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN

resultsWe included 47,988 patients from 67 ICUs across 52 hospitals, totaling 167,621 patient-days with a measurement of one of the studied electrolytes. Median age was 64 years (interquartile range [IQR] 52-74) and 46% (22,057) were female. There were 38,621 patients (80.5%) with a minimum value below a lower limit of normal, and 33,626 (70.1%) patients who received supplementation. Across hospitals, the median (IQR) percentages receiving supplementation per day were: calcium 9.4% (6.7-12.2); magnesium 28.6% (22.6-35.0); phosphate 19.1% (15.9-23.2); potassium 28.9% (25.8-34.6). From a multilevel model, the median relative odds of supplementation, comparing any two hospitals, ranged from 1.51 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.48-1.55) for potassium to 2.09 (95% CI 1.99-2.19) for magnesium. At most hospitals, there were no calcium or phosphate levels at which the percentage receiving supplementation exceeded 50%. At 75% of hospitals there was a magnesium level at which the percentage receiving magnesium supplementation was 50% or more (range: 1.5-2.1 mg/dL), and at 96% of hospitals there was an analogous potassium level (range: 3.3-3.9 mmol/L).

conclusionSupplementation of calcium, magnesium, phosphate, or potassium is common in critically ill patients and varies across hospitals, suggesting a need for randomized trials to clarify optimal supplementation practices.

Indexed as

CalciumCritical IllnessDietary SupplementsMagnesiumPhosphatesPotassiumAgedFemaleHumansIntensive Care UnitsMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesCalciumMagnesiumPhosphatesPotassium

Identifiers

PMID42391217
PMCPMC13327132

What Socratic holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.