A double-blind placebo-controlled crossover trial of intravenous magnesium sulfate for foscarnet-induced ionized hypocalcemia and hypomagnesemia in patients with AIDS and cytomegalovirus infection.

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Foscarnet and Magnesium Sulfate in this randomized controlled trial publication.

Foscarnet (trisodium phosphonoformate hexahydrate) is an antiviral agent used to treat cytomegalovirus disease in immunocompromised patients.

One common side effect is acute ionized hypocalcemia and hypomagnesemia following intravenous administration.

Who Took Part

The study group was 12 patients.

PubMed indexes the participants as adults, men only.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover and pilot study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Foscarnet and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

Neither the patients nor the staff measuring them knew who was on Foscarnet, so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

Some patients received a placebo instead of Foscarnet, giving a reference point.

In the crossover set-up each of the patients took both Foscarnet and the comparison in turn, acting as their own control.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Calcium, Cytomegalovirus Infections, Foscarnet, Hypocalcemia and Magnesium.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Foscarnet and Magnesium Sulfate in 12 patients.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The publication is from 2000 (Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy), a journal based in United States.

More context: all human trials.