title: Addisonian Crisis after Missed Diagnosis of Posttraumatic Hypopituitarism.
abstract: We report a case of a previously undiagnosed panhypopituitarism initially presenting as a full-blown Addisonian crisis with hypoglycemia, hyponatremia, hypotension and neuropsychological symptoms, more than 30 years after a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). The patient also displayed clearly visible pathognomonic clinical signs of long-standing pituitary dysfunction. The case highlights the importance of being aware of endocrine sequelae even decades after serious TBI.
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, RWTH Aachen University, 52062 Aachen, Germany. cstreetz-vanderwerf@ukaachen.de.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Streetz-van der Werf
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, RWTH Aachen University, 52062 Aachen, Germany. wkarges@ukaachen.de.
authors.forename: Wolfram
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Karges
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroradiology, RWTH Aachen University, 52062 Aachen, Germany. mblaum@ukaachen.de.
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Blaum
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany. ilonka.kreitschmann@uk-essen.de.
authors.forename: Ilonka
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kreitschmann-Andermahr
keywords: Addisonian crisis; hypocortisolism; hypopituitarism; neuroendocrine dysfunction; traumatic brain injury