title: Secondary abscess arising in a craniopharyngioma.
abstract: An abscess arising in a craniopharyngioma is rare, but has potentially high mortality and morbidity. Diagnosis is difficult because clinical and neuroradiological characteristics are not clearly defined. We report a patient with a pituitary abscess concomitant with a craniopharyngioma and discuss the pathophysiological mechanism. We discuss the previous five reports and suggest that abscesses with craniopharyngioma remain challenging clinical entities. We speculate that inflammation is a response to components of the ruptured epithelium of the cyst, thereby providing an explanation of the mechanism of abscess formation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Shiliugang Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510515, China. sjwkmarco@126.com
authors.forename: Songtao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: Junxiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Yuntao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fan
mesh_terms: D000038:Abscess / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D003397:Craniopharyngioma / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery