Recurrent pituitary abscess: case report and review of the literature

Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism Case Reports
Raluca Maria FurnicaOrsalia Alexopoulou

Abstract

A 26-year-old woman presented with severe postpartum headaches. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a symmetric, heterogeneous enlargement of the pituitary gland. Three months later, she developed central diabetes insipidus. A diagnosis of postpartum hypophysitis was suspected and corticosteroids were prescribed. Six months later, the pituitary mass showed further enlargement and characteristics of a necrotic abscess with a peripheral shell and infiltration of the hypothalamus. Transsphenoidal surgery was performed, disclosing a pus-filled cavity which was drained. No bacterial growth was observed, except a single positive blood culture forStaphylococcus aureus, considered at that time as a potential contaminant. A short antibiotic course was, however, administered together with hormonal substitution for panhypopituitarism. Four months after her discharge, severe headaches recurred. Pituitary MRI was suggestive of a persistent inflammatory mass of the sellar region. She underwent a new transsphenoidal resection of a residual abscess. At that time, the sellar aspiration fluid was positive forStaphylococcus aureusand she was treated with antibiotics for 6 weeks, after which she had complete resolution of her infection. The ...Continue Reading

References

May 1, 1977·Journal of Neurosurgery·J N Domingue, C B Wilson
May 1, 1991·Neurosurgery·M ScanariniL Alessio
Sep 1, 1996·Pediatric Radiology·T MurakamiT Nagashima
Apr 1, 1997·British Journal of Neurosurgery·K C JainA K Mahapatra
Jul 1, 1997·Neuroradiology·L J WolanskyN Budhwani
Apr 21, 1999·Clinical Radiology·W M AdamsJ A Thorne
Jan 10, 2002·Journal of Neurosurgery·G E VatesC B Wilson
Oct 5, 2002·Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria·Ricardo Alexandre HanelJoão Cândido Araújo
Sep 9, 2005·Journal of Neuro-ophthalmology : the Official Journal of the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society·Apjit KaurManish Mittal
Jul 18, 2006·Pituitary·Pinaki DuttaYashwant Kumar
Nov 3, 2010·Clinical Endocrinology·Fuyi LiuRenzhi Wang
Mar 10, 2012·Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery·Xiaoluo ZhangYao Zhao
Oct 1, 2010·The Neuroradiology Journal·J BladowskaM Sąsiadek
Jun 9, 2016·Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism Case Reports·Apostolos K A KaragiannisAndromachi Vryonidou

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Nov 17, 2020·Endocrinología, Diabetes Y Nutrición·Luz María Reyes CéspedesMónica Recasens Sala
Sep 1, 2021·Pituitary·J WarmbierW Saeger

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Methods Mentioned

BETA
biopsy
surgical resection
hormone replacement therapy

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Antifungals

An antifungal, also known as an antimycotic medication, is a pharmaceutical fungicide or fungistatic used to treat and prevent mycosis such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis, cryptococcal meningitis, and others. Discover the latest research on antifungals here.

Antifungals (ASM)

An antifungal, also known as an antimycotic medication, is a pharmaceutical fungicide or fungistatic used to treat and prevent mycosis such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis, cryptococcal meningitis, and others. Discover the latest research on antifungals here.