Background: Delayed energy failure carries a bad prognosis in birth-asphyxiated infants.

Subjects: 12 piglets aged <24 h, anaesthetised and ventilated, underwent temporary occlusion of the carotid arteries and hypoxaemia. Phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the brain was carried out during the insult and for the next 48 h. Insult severity was determined by the time-integral of depletion of nucleotide triphosphate.

Interventions: Randomised and blind: 400 mg.kg-1 intravenous MgSO4 one hour after resuscitation and 200 mg.kg-1 12 and 24 h later (n=6); or saline placebo (n=6).

Results: Serum Mg2+ was 2.1±(SD)0.3 mmol.l-1 1 h after the first dose of MgSO4. Values for[phosphocreatine(PCr)]/[inorganic phosphate(Pi)] and insult severity were compared: Table

Table 1
Full size table

Conclusion: Magnesium sulphate did not prevent or significantly reduce (t-test and Mann-Whitney) the severity of delayed cerebral energy failure.