Relationship between hypermagnesaemia in preterm labour and adverse health outcomes in babies.

The Magnesium and Neurologic Endpoints Trial (the so-called MagNET Trial) was a randomized clinical trial that was undertaken to establish whether the antenatal usage of magnesium sulphate could protect neonates from having adverse neurologic outcomes. Unfortunately, the trial was suspended after 15 months of enrolment because of excess total paediatric mortality among those exposed to magnesium sulphate. Following our original report and contrary to the original hypotheses, additional analyses of our data have actually shown a statistically significant increase in the risk of neonatal intraventricular hemorrhage, as well as total adverse paediatric outcomes, among those with higher levels of ionized magnesium at delivery. Nonetheless, it has been postulated, but not established, that anions of magnesium other than sulphate could have a more benign, or even beneficial, effect on health outcomes in the neonate.