Pituitary tumor apoplexy is an uncommon syndrome resulting often spontaneously from hemorrhage or infarction of a pre-existing pituitary adenoma. As the primary event involves the adenoma, the syndrome should be referred to as pituitary tumor apoplexy and not as pituitary apoplexy. The sudden increase in sellar contents compresses surrounding structures and portal vessels, resulting in sudden, severe headache, visual disturbances, and impairment in pituitary function. Initial management of patients with pituitary tumor apoplexy includes supportive therapy (intravenous fluids and corticosteroids), following which many patients exhibit clinical improvement. Because those patients can be effectively managed with supportive measures, many who remain clinically and neurologically unstable might benefit from urgent surgical decompression by an experienced neurosurgeon. All patients presenting with this syndrome require long-term follow-up to treat any residual tumor and/or pituitary dysfunction. Close interaction between members of the management team is necessary for optimal patients' outcome.

This article provides the first thorough review and characterization of patients with hemorrhage within an RCC. Based on the clinical manifestations of this presentation, we recommend using the term "Rathke cleft cyst apoplexy" to describe the syndrome.

Despite profound hypocortisolemia after adenomectomy, a simultaneously measured plasma ACTH level of >20 ng/L in the perioperative period is highly predictive of future recurrence of ACTH-secreting adenomas.

Patients with impaired HPA function have a more severe loss in DHEA secretion than that of glucocorticoids. Measurements of serum DHEA levels during LDC simulation provide additional valuable information that improves the diagnostic accuracy of LDC in patients suspected to have central AI. We recommend the inclusion of DHEA and DHEA-S measurements in the laboratory assessment of HPA function.

No abstract

Management of patients with ACTH producing pituitary adenoma remains to be challenging. Removal of the pituitary adenoma through transsphenoidal surgery is the main stay of treatment. Complete resection of the adenoma is followed by the development of ACTH deficiency since the normal corticotrophs are suppressed by the pre-existing hypercortisolemia. The concern for ACTH deficiency has led many centers to advocate the use glucocorticoids before, during and after surgery. We provide evidence that such coverage with glucocorticoids is unnecessary until clinical or biochemical documentation of need is established. Given that patients are closely monitored, they are immediately treated with glucocorticoids once they exhibit any clinical and/or biochemical evidence of adrenal insufficiency. Defining remission in the immediate postoperative period has been rather difficult despite using different biochemical markers. Serum cortisol continues to be the best determinant of disease activity after surgical adenomectomy. However it needs to be interpreted with caution as a biochemical marker of remission in patients given glucocorticoids during and after surgery. Other biochemical markers are also used in the peri-operative period to determine the possibility of remission. These include the dexamethasone suppression test, CRH stimulation without dexamethasone, urinary free cortisol measurements, desmopressin stimulation test, the determination of salivary cortisol and / or plasma ACTH concentrations. Each test has its own advantages and limitations. The simplest and most informative approach is to measure serum cortisol levels repeatedly after surgery without the administration of exogenous glucocorticoids. Low serum cortisol levels (less than 2 μg/dL) in the peri-operative period are highly indicative of surgical success and a high likelihood for clinical remission. Higher serum cortisol levels require careful interpretation and further planning and discussions between the patient and the management team.

No abstract

No abstract