Prolonged runs of ventricular tachycardia as a complication of theophylline intoxication. Report of a case.

A 70-year-old patient who developed ventricular tachycardia (up to several hundreds of consecutive ventricular complexes) in the presence of theophylline intoxication (29 micrograms/ml) is reported. Ventricular tachycardia is a rare complication of theophylline intoxication and, to our knowledge, has not yet been reported with theophylline levels below 40 micrograms/ml. The occurrence of hypokalemia and its possible arrhythmogenic effect in theophylline intoxication is discussed. The role of low theophylline clearance in developing iatrogenic theophylline intoxication is emphasized. Patients with theophylline intoxication should be carefully monitored, even when the serum level does not seem to be dramatically high.