The objective of this article is to review clinical outcomes in patients presenting with pituitary apoplexy and compare the results of conservative and surgical management. It took the form of a retrospective review of 30 patients (23M, 7F; age range: 17-86 years) with pituitary apoplexy diagnosed between 1988 and 2004. Presenting features included headache in 27 patients, 'collapse' in three and vomiting in 14. Complete blindness occurred in four patients, monocular blindness in two, decreased visual acuity in 12, visual field loss in 10 and ophthalmoplegia in 15. Only five had no initial visual deficit. CT was the initial mode of imaging in 22 patients: three such scans were initially reported as 'normal' and a further 10 as pituitary tumour only, with no haemorrhage. Ten patients proceeded to early pituitary surgery and 20 were managed conservatively. There was one death 24 days after admission in a patient with multiple co-morbidities. Of the six patients with blindness, three (two conservatively treated) regained partial vision. Of the remaining 19 patients with visual deficits, 10 (two surgically treated) recovered fully and eight (four surgically treated) partly so. At latest follow-up the following pituitary hormone deficiencies were identified: ACTH 19; TSH 20; testosterone 18; ADH (diabetes insipidus) eight. Later recurrence of a pituitary adenoma was observed in seven cases (including six of the 10 surgically treated patients). There was no evidence that those patients managed surgically had a better outcome. Early neurosurgical intervention may not be required in most patients presenting with pituitary apoplexy.

UK National Health Service.

AimsThiazide diuretics have a number of well-documented metabolic adverse effects. The aim of this study was to estimate the frequency of hyponatraemia and hypokalaemia amongst patients taking a thiazide diuretic in primary care. MethodsA computerized search of the electronic prescribing and laboratory records of six U K general practices was performed. Of the 32 218 adult patients identified, 3773 had received at least one prescription for a thiazide between the years 1990 and 2002. ResultsDetailed prescribing data were available for 2942 patients of whom 951 (32.3%) had a recorded check of their electrolytes. One hundred and ninety-six (20.6%) had a sodium and/or potassium concentration below the normal range. The sodium distribution had a negative skew ( − 1.8) and in 130 (13.7%) patients was within the hyponatraemic range. Hypokalaemia was less common, occurring in 79 (8.5%) patients. Hyponatraemia was significantly associated with increased age; the odds ratio for developing hyponatraemia in patients over 70 years was 3.87 compared with those of ≤ 70 years. Hypokalaemia was significantly associated with increased thiazide dose. ConclusionsPrescription of a thiazide diuretic in primary care is associated with a high frequency of hyponatraemia and hypokalaemia. Thiazides should be prescribed at low dose and the risk of hyponatraemia, especially in the elderly, should be considered and monitored for when prescribing these agents.

Propionibacterium acnes is found increasingly as a cause of delayed infection, usually involving implanted biomaterials. Despite susceptibility to common antibiotics, such infections are very difficult to treat and usually require surgical removal of the device. Three clinical isolates of P. acnes were assessed for ability to adhere to titanium, surgical steel and silicone, with and without a plasma conditioning film. After adherence, the biomaterials were then incubated for a further 6 days and examined for biofilm development. All three isolates adhered to all three biomaterials similarly. Importantly, we were able to demonstrate biofilm formation, including production of exopolymer similar in appearance to the polysaccharide intercellular adhesin of Staphylococcus epidermidis. A case summary also demonstrated failure to eradicate P. acnes infection in a hydrocephalus shunt after prolonged treatment. The removed shunt showed obvious biofilm formation, initially obscured by exopolymer when viewed by environmental scanning electron microscopy. Biofilm development by P. acnes explains the difficulties encountered in clinical management of such infections.

AimsHyponatraemia is one of the major adverse effects of thiazide and thiazide-like diuretics and the leading cause of drug-induced hyponatraemia requiring hospital admission. We sought to review and analyze all published cases of this important condition.MethodsOvid Medline, Embase, Web of Science and PubMed electronic databases were searched to identify all relevant articles published before October 2013. A proportions meta-analysis was undertaken.ResultsOne hundred and two articles were identified of which 49 were single patient case reports. Meta-analysis showed that mean age was 75 (95% CI 73, 77) years, 79% were women (95% CI 74, 82) and mean body mass index was 25 (95% CI 20, 30) kg m−2. Presentation with thiazide-induced hyponatraemia occurred a mean of 19 (95% CI 8, 30) days after starting treatment, with mean trough serum sodium concentration of 116 (95% CI 113, 120) mm and serum potassium of 3.3 (95% CI 3.0, 3.5) mm. Mean urinary sodium concentration was 64 mm (95% CI 47, 81). The most frequently reported drugs were hydrochlorothiazide, indapamide and bendroflumethiazide.ConclusionsPatients with thiazide-induced hyponatraemia were characterized by advanced age, female gender, inappropriate saliuresis and mild hypokalaemia. Low BMI was not found to be a significant risk factor, despite previous suggestions. The time from thiazide initiation to presentation with hyponatraemia suggests that the recommended practice of performing a single investigation of serum biochemistry 7–14 days after thiazide initiation may be insufficient or suboptimal. Further larger and more systematic studies of thiazide-induced hyponatraemia are required.

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