Case of an atypical pituitary abscess

Abstract

A pituitary abscess is a rare intrasellar infection. Correct identification can be challenging preoperatively given its non-specific symptoms and imaging findings. We report a case of a young woman presenting with secondary amenorrhea, visual field deficits and a 2.6 cm pituitary lesion diagnosed to be a craniopharyngioma. A concomitant unexpected pituitary abscess was diagnosed intraoperatively without associated meningeal symptoms.

Pituitary abscess: A descriptive analysis of a series of 19 patients: a multi-center experience

“…Combining the imaging features of computed tomography (CT) scanning and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the anterior skull base and diaphragm sellae with clinical manifestations [5][6] has been suggested as an effective non-invasive method for the diagnosis of PA. In the meantime, another researcher demonstrated that symptoms like meningitis, sinusitis, sepsis, and rapid neurological deterioration could be used to determine the presence of abscess formation due to pituitary adenoma [7] . Moreover, Anagnos emphasized the importance of diabetes insipidus as a characteristic symptom to exclude adenoma in PA patients [8] .…”