Abstract
Pituitary abscess is a rare, focal purulent collection of the sellar region. A wide variety of bacterial and fungal microorganisms have been implicated. The most common clinical presentation is anterior pituitary hypofunction, followed by headache, fever, diabetes insipidus, and visual disturbances. Biologic inflammatory parameters are unspecific and should always be interpreted in combination with clinical and imaging data. MRI studies demonstrate a cystic or partially cystic mass in the sellar area with rim enhancement after gadolinium injection. Concomitant sphenoid sinusitis is suggestive, but the diagnosis of pituitary abscess is often missed prior to surgery. Adapted antibiotic therapy, complete transsphenoidal surgical drainage, and hormone replacement for hypopituitarism are the keys to treatment. Symptoms due to mass effect improve after drainage, but hypopituitarism often persists and recurrence is not rare.
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Akhaddar, A. (2017). Pituitary Abscesses. In: Atlas of Infections in Neurosurgery and Spinal Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60086-4_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60086-4_11
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