Primary pituitary abscess: Case report and review of the literature

Pituitary abscess is a serious intrasellar infection representing less than 1% of all pituitary pathologies. A 30-year-old female patient with intermittent headaches, polyuria and amenorrhea was admitted. A bitemporal hemianopsia, a nasal polyposis and a partial pituitary insufficiency were demonstrated. M.R. imaging revealed a pituitary cystic mass lesion with a capsular contrast enhancement after gadolinium. No sphenoidal sinusitis was present. Via endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery, purulent materials were drained by cutting the underlying fibrous pituitary tissue. A polipectomy was also performed. The cultures revealed coagulase-negative staphyloccoccus and microscopical study demonstrated a lynphocytic inflammatory process with hyperplasya. Four months after surgery she presented no neurological deficit and no recurrence of intrasellar mass.