In some individuals, chronic pain management remains ineffective and due to which intake of opioids is increased, which lead to severe consequences. As per a Protocol of a systematic review published in the journal JMIR, administration of magnesium either orally or parenterally may emerge as an efficient and safe approach to treat such type of chronic pain in the future.

As per the study protocol, the researchers will search EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web-based trial registries, MEDLINE, and reference lists of retrieved studies extensively to select randomized controlled trials comprised data of magnesium (any route of administration, dose or frequency) and placebo comparison in the context to manage chronic pain. The studies will be reviewed to extract data, eligibility, potential bias, and trial quality by two reviewers independently. Any approved measure of pain intensity will consider as the primary outcome. The risk ratio and number needed to treat, or harm will be evaluated using the dichotomous data. Further, the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach will be applied to estimate the quality of evidence.

The Queen’s University Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine Vandewater Endowed Studentship have carried out the peer-review process of the protocol. Funds are granted for the whole process. Additional support for patient-oriented research has been provided by the Chronic Pain Network of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Strategy. The electronic database searches are presently being developed and modified. The whole project will be accomplished soon and will present the safety and efficacy of magnesium in chronic pain.