Electrolyte disturbances and critical care seizures

Electrolyte disturbances in the ICU are extremely common. The electrolyte disorder most commonly associated with seizure is hyponatremia, although extremely low Mg²⁺, phosphate, and both very low and high Ca²⁺ values can cause seizures. Critical care physicians must be vigilant to suspect and identify electrolyte disturbances in their patients, because a growing amount of information suggests that they are a marker and potentially a cause of poor prognosis. Electrolyte disturbances should never be uncritically accepted as the etiology of a seizure until a thorough investigation has been undertaken.