Pituitary abscesses. Report of seven cases and review of the literature.
Seven cases of pituitary abscess are presented and the relevant world literature is reviewed. An enlarged sella co-existing with bacterial meningitis, or bacterial meningitis coinciding with a known or suspected pituitary tumor should suggest the diagnosis of pituitary abscess. Visual field defects should evoke similar suspicion when present in a patient with meningitis. This reasoning enabled us to make the first reported preoperative diagnosis of pituitary abscess. Therefore, in the management of purulent meningitis, we recommend the following: first, skull films are mandatory; second if the sella turcica is abnormal, the correct presumptive diagnosis is pituitary abscess; and third, if prompt improvement does not follow appropriate antibiotic therapy, the suspected abscess should be explored and drained via the transsphenoidal approach.
D000038:Abscess / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010900:Pituitary Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014794:Visual Fields