1/94. pituitary apoplexy after cardiac surgery presenting as deep coma with dilated pupils.Acute clinical deterioration due to infarction or haemorrhage of an existing, often previously unrecognized, pituitary tumour is a rare but well-described complication. It can occur spontaneously or may be caused e.g. by mechanical ventilation, infection or surgical procedures. We report on a case of pituitary apoplexy occurring in a 64-year-old patient 3 weeks after cardiac surgery. The patient presented with deep coma and dilated pupils. magnetic resonance imaging revealed a haemorrhagic pituitary tumour. After prompt endocrinologic replacement therapy with levothyroxine and hydrocortisone the patient regained consciousness. Neurological examination revealed right oculomotor nerve palsy and bilateral cranial nerve VI palsy. Subsequent trans-sphenoidal removal of a nonfunctional macroadenoma with large necrotic areas was performed. The patient recovered completely. To our knowledge, pituitary tumours presenting with a combination of deep coma and dilated pupils must be considered exceedingly rare. Possible pathophysiologic mechanisms are discussed. As our case illustrates, even in severe cases complete recovery is possible if the diagnosis is suspected, and diagnostic and therapeutic measures are initiated in time.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = adenoma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/94. Post-traumatic pituitary apoplexy--two case reports.A 60-year-old female and a 66-year-old male presented with post-traumatic pituitary apoplexy associated with clinically asymptomatic pituitary macroadenoma manifesting as severe visual disturbance that had not developed immediately after the head injury. skull radiography showed a unilateral linear occipital fracture. magnetic resonance imaging revealed pituitary tumor with dumbbell-shaped suprasellar extension and fresh intratumoral hemorrhage. Transsphenoidal surgery was performed in the first patient, and the visual disturbance subsided. decompressive craniectomy was performed in the second patient to treat brain contusion and part of the tumor was removed to decompress the optic nerves. The mechanism of post-traumatic pituitary apoplexy may occur as follows. The intrasellar part of the tumor is fixed by the bony structure forming the sella, and the suprasellar part is free to move, so a rotational force acting on the occipital region on one side will create a shearing strain between the intra- and suprasellar part of the tumor, resulting in pituitary apoplexy. Recovery of visual function, no matter how severely impaired, can be expected if an emergency operation is performed to decompress the optic nerves. Transsphenoidal surgery is the most advantageous procedure, as even partial removal of the tumor may be adequate to decompress the optic nerves in the acute stage. Staged transsphenoidal surgery is indicated to achieve total removal later.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = adenoma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/94. Pituitary metastasis from carcinoma of the urinary bladder mimicking pituitary apoplexy--case report.A 70-year-old male presented with pituitary metastasis from transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder manifesting as sudden headache, transient unconsciousness, and visual disturbance mimicking apoplexy of pituitary adenoma. Computed tomography showed a suprasellar tumor with intratumoral and intraventricular hemorrhage. magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated an intra- and suprasellar mass lesion mimicking pituitary adenoma. diabetes insipidus developed soon after. The tumor was subtotally removed. Histological examination revealed transitional cell carcinoma. An intratumoral hemorrhage may be associated with a pituitary metastasis if the patient presents with symptoms such as pituitary apoplexy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = adenoma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/94. Acute painful oculomotor nerve paresis caused by pituitary apoplexy--a case report.In a typical case of pituitary apoplexy, a patient, who may or may not be known to harbor a pituitary adenoma, suddenly develops a severe headache. The headache may be retro-orbital, frontal, frontotemporal, or diffuse and may be associated with neck stiffness, neck pain, or both. ophthalmoplegia may develop within a few hours after the onset of headache. Here we report a rare case of one middle-aged female with pituitary apoplexy initially presenting with acute onset of pupil-involved third cranial nerve palsy, headache and peri-ocular pain. Emergent neuroimaging revealed pituitary apoplexy and immediate intravenous corticosteroid was given and third nerve paresis was improved thereafter. Definite tumor removal was done smoothly after steroid treatment and complete recovery of ophthalmoplegia was noted 2 weeks after operation.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = adenoma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/94. pituitary apoplexy following metastasis of bronchogenic adenocarcinoma to a prolactinoma.A 42-year-old house wife presented with worsening headaches over 6 months in the absence of visual symptoms or symptoms suggestive of focal neurology. She was a life-long smoker. Systems review was unremarkable apart from secondary amenorrhoea and galactorrhoea of 6 months duration. Her serum prolactin was found to be 620 mU/l (60-400), FT4 12.6 nmol/l (9.8-23.1), TSH 1.38 mU/l (0.35-5.5), oestradiol < 73 pmol/l, LH and FSH of 4.4 and 12.6 mIU/l, respectively. She was on bromocriptine. A presumptive diagnosis of pneumonia, based on pyrexia and CXR findings, was made and she was started on IV antibiotics. Two days later she developed meningism and deterioration of conscious level. (Lumbar puncture results: no organisms, 312 neutrophils and 164 lymphocytes). CT scan revealed a 2.5-cm pituitary adenoma, with suprasellar extension. A repeat hormonal profile revealed FSH 1.4, LH < 0.3 mU/l, oestradiol < 73 pmol/l, prolactin 488 mU/l (60-400), and low random cortisol at 29 nmol/l. T1-weighted MRI revealed a large pituitary mass with evidence of haemorrhage. The patient subsequently underwent a transsphenoidal exploration with resection of the pituitary lesion. Whilst awaiting the histopathology results, CT of chest revealed a 1. 5-cm diameter rounded well defined density in the right lower lobe associated with hilar, pre- and right para-tracheal lymphadenopathy. The histopathology of the pituitary lesion, obtained piecemeal, revealed fragments of fibrous tissue infiltrated by sheets of acidophilic prolactin-positive cells, in keeping with a prolactinoma. In addition, other fragments with blood clot included highly atypical epithelial cells with mitotic figures. These were negative for prolactin but showed HMFG-and CEA-positivity, excluding them from a pituitary lineage. Transbronchial biopsy revealed moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma, with evidence of lymphatic spread. The overall conclusion was of bronchogenic adenocarcinoma, metastasizing to a prolactinoma and complicated by apoplexy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = adenoma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/94. pituitary apoplexy probably due to TRH and GnRH stimulation tests in a patient with acromegaly.pituitary apoplexy is the most serious and life-threatening complication of pituitary adenomas. Most of the cases occur spontaneously but it may occur also after a number of events such as the pituitary stimulation tests. We report a case of acromegaly due to a giant pituitary adenoma in which pituitary apoplexy developed 88 hours after TRH/GnRH stimulation test. The patient had severe headaches, nausea, vomiting, visual disturbance and mental alteration and the computed tomography (CT) scans revealed intratumoral and intraventricular bleeding. The pituitary mass was removed by transsphenoidal approach. The patient developed pneumonia and died on the 9th postoperative day. pituitary apoplexy was confirmed at surgery and on histological examination. Immunohistochemical staining was positive for GH and PRL. This case indicates that pituitary apoplexy may develop several days after TRH/GnRH stimulation test.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = adenoma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/94. Spontaneous resolution of pituitary adenoma after apoplexy.A patient with typical pituitary apoplexy with documented intralesional hemorrhage and spontaneous resolution is presented. There was no evidence of a tumor at a 3-month follow-up.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 4keywords = adenoma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/94. gonadotropin-releasing hormone-induced partial empty sella clinically mimicking pituitary apoplexy in a woman with a suspected non-secreting macroadenoma.pituitary apoplexy has been reported as a rare complication of dynamic testing used for the study of pituitary functional reserve. In 1993, a diagnosis of non-secreting macroadenoma with moderate functional hyperprolactinaemia was made in a 43-year-old woman. Soon after the start of therapy with bromocriptine up to 5 mg/die, the patient complained of nausea and postural hypotension. As the symptoms persisted even when the dose was reduced to 2.5 mg/die, the patient was transferred to therapy with quinagolide at the dosage of 37.5 microg/die. PRL levels quickly normalized (range 1.4-5.7 ng/ml) as well as menstrual cycles, and no side-effect was reported. In 1995 a sellar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed no shrinkage of the known macroadenoma. In 1996, few hours after a gonadotropin-releasing-hormone (GnRH) test, which showed normal LH and FSH response and with baseline PRL levels in the normal range, the patient started complaining of severe frontal headache, nausea and vomiting. No gross visual defects were present. An emergency computed tomography (CT) showed no evident hemorrhagic infarction in the macroadenoma. The symptoms completely resolved in few days with steroidal and antiemetic therapy. A new MRI performed in 1998 showed a partial empty sella and PRL levels were in the normal range under dopaminergic treatment. The pituitary functional reserve proved normal on dynamic testing. The temporal association between the onset of symptoms and the GnRH test strongly suggests an association between the two events. No evident signs of pituitary apoplexy (either on emergency CT or hormonal evaluation) were detected. The authors suggest that GnRH can cause severe side-effects that mimic pituitary apoplexy without related morphological evidence and that, in our particular case, it can have caused the gradual disappearance of the non-secreting macroadenoma. Moreover, a causal role of the chronic dopaminergic treatment cannot be completely ruled out.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 8keywords = adenoma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/94. Emergency department presentation of pituitary apoplexy.pituitary apoplexy is an acute infarction of pituitary gland, and potentially life-threatening condition that may be highly variable in its clinical presentation. We report a 54-year-old man presenting to the emergency department with an isolated oculomotor nerve palsy. Computed tomography (CT) scan revealed an isodense mass within sellar region and subsequently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a pituitary apoplexy causing a compression of right oculomotor nerve. The patient received hydrocortisone immediately, and did well with medical management. An isolated oculomotor nerve palsy is very rarely the presenting sign of pituitary apoplexy. When correctly diagnosed and treated, the third nerve palsy appears to be reversible. A pathophysiology, differential diagnosis, and treatment is described.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.0071807428299898keywords = gland (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/94. Chiasmal apoplexy due to hemorrhage from a pituitary adenoma into the optic chiasm: case report.OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: Chiasmal apoplexy, defined as hemorrhage into the optic chiasm, generally is caused by an intrachiasmal vascular malformation. We report the first case of chiasmal apoplexy due to hemorrhage from a pituitary macroadenoma into the optic chiasm. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A 52-year-old man presented with headache, sudden and severe deterioration of visual acuity in the left eye, and a bitemporal visual field deficit. magnetic resonance imaging revealed a large intra- and suprasellar homogeneously enhancing mass, which elevated a markedly thickened optic chiasm. After emergent transsphenoidal resection of the pituitary adenoma, vision did not improve. INTERVENTION: A pterional craniotomy was subsequently performed, during which a hematoma was found and evacuated from within the substance of the left optic nerve and chiasm. The hematoma cavity was found to communicate with the sella through a defect in the diaphragm. Vision improved dramatically after the operation. CONCLUSION: Chiasmal apoplexy resulting from pituitary adenoma should be distinguished from pituitary apoplexy, particularly because it requires a different surgical treatment. Clinical and radiographic features that may help distinguish the two are discussed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 7keywords = adenoma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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