The perils of a sneeze.
A 51-year-old woman had a 3-day history of severe left supraorbital pain associated with blurred vision of the left eye. Examination revealed visual acuity of 20/20 OD and 20/100 OS. A left relative afferent pupillary defect was present. Neuroimaging revealed a large intra-, supra-, and parasellar mass that had eroded through the sphenoid sinus into the maxillary sinus. Secondary pneumocephalus was present. Pathologic examination of the tissue revealed a pituitary adenoma of the null cell type. To the best of our knowledge, there is only one other case in the literature in which a spontaneous pneumatocele represents the initial manifestation of a pituitary adenoma.
Wein
F B
FB
Department of Ophthalmology, Montreal General Hospital, McGill University, Quebec, Canada.
Gans
M S
MS
D000236:Adenoma / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D011007:Pneumocephalus / Q000209:etiology*; D012912:Sneezing; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000209:etiology*