Insulin Tolerance Test Causes Hypokalaemia and Can Provoke Cardiac Arrhythmias

We report the observation and analysis of a new adverse event during the insulin tolerance test (ITT) and propose additional safety procedures. An 8-year-old girl with growth hormone insufficiency had a cardiac arrest due to ventricular flutter when she was tested for growth hormone deficiency by the ITT. Severe hypokalaemia (K + 2.6 mmol/l) was observed after resuscitation. Ergometry ECG revealed catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, a hereditary arrhythmogenic disease. Consecutive measurements of serum potassium during ITT in 29 short children (21 boys) with growth failure revealed a mean decrease of serum potassium by 1.1 ± 0.4 mmol/l with the nadir at 30 min after the insulin bolus. Hypokalaemia (serum potassium