Ionized calcium concentration and outcome in critical illness.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of abnormalities of ionized calcium levels with mortality in a heterogeneous cohort of critically ill patients.
DESIGN: Retrospective, combined clinical and biochemical study.
SETTING: Four combined medical/surgical intensive care units. PATIENTS: Cohort of 7,024 adult critically ill patients.
INTERVENTIONS: None.
MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We studied 177,578 ionized calcium measurements, from 7024 patients, with a mean value of 1.11 mmol/L (ionized calcium measured every 4.5 hrs on average). The unadjusted lowest and highest ionized calcium reported during intensive care unit stay were significantly different between intensive care unit survivors and nonsurvivors (p < .001). If hypocalcemia occurred at least once during the intensive care unit stay, the probability of intensive care unit mortality increased by 46%, 108%, and 150% for ionized calcium levels <1.15, 0.90, and 0.80 mmol/L, respectively. If hypercalcemia occurred at least once during the intensive care unit stay, the probability of intensive care unit mortality increased by 100%, 162%, and 190% for ionized calcium levels >1.25, 1.35, and 1.45 mmol/L, respectively. Similar trends were seen for hospital mortality. However, from multivariate logistic regression analysis, only an ionized calcium <0.8 mmol/L or an ionized calcium >1.4 mmol/L were independently associated with intensive care unit and hospital mortality.
CONCLUSIONS: Within a broad range of values, ionized calcium concentration has no independent association with hospital or intensive care unit mortality. Only extreme abnormalities of ionized calcium concentrations are independent predictors of mortality.