Two unusual causes of pituitary stalk thickening in children without clinical features of diabetes insipidus.
Pituitary stalk thickening has a wide differential diagnosis, but almost all infundibular diseases present with diabetes insipidus (DI). We present a child with metastatic involvement of the pituitary stalk from a primary pontine tumour and a child with tuberculous infiltration of the pituitary stalk and associated meningeal inflammation. Neither child presented with DI. Even though both metastatic disease and tuberculous infiltration of the stalk have been reported in adults, these are the first reports with accompanying cross-sectional images of pituitary stalk involvement by these diseases in children.
Andronikou
Savvas
S
Department of Paediatric Neuroradiology, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and School of Child and Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town, Klipfontein Road, 7700 Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa. docsav@mweb.co.za
Furlan
Gisella
G
Fieggen
Anthony G
AG
Wilmshurst
Jo
J
D000293:Adolescent; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D002648:Child; D003919:Diabetes Insipidus; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000556:secondary*; D011149:Pons; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D020306:Tuberculosis, Central Nervous System / Q000150:complications*