[Rapid calcium infusion in the diagnosis of hypoglycemia]

The diagnosis of beta cell tumours of the pancreas is a clinical problem. It is also difficult to exclude this diagnosis in patients who are suspected of suffering from recurrent hypoglycemia, but do not have beta cell tumours. The most widely used diagnostic procedure has been suppression of endogenous insulin production with prolonged fasting up to 72 hours. This procedure is troublesome to the patient, time-consuming and expensive, and demands the complete cooperation of the patient. Therefore several diagnostic tests have been developed, but none has been generally accepted. A newly described test involving calcium infusion, 2 mg/kg in one minute, seems to give a diagnostic response in most patients with insulinomas, few false positive results and few side effects. We have used this test for four years and found it safe and easy to perform. It has given diagnostic response in three patients with insulinomas and no false positive results in 27 other patients.