Pituitary abscess in a pregnant woman

Sinusitis as a cause of insidious headache in a pregnant woman: A case report

“…8,9 Symptoms of acute sinusitis include nasal congestion, purulent discharge, facial pain/pressure, and reduction of smell lasting less than four weeks. 10 Classic symptoms may be absent in nearly half of women with documented purulent sinusitis during pregnancy, making diagnosis difficult. 4 A handful of case reports have described rare intracranial complications from untreated acute sinusitis in pregnant women.…”

Pott's puffy tumour and intracranial complications of frontal sinusitis in pregnancy

“…The first involved sphenoid sinusitis and a pituitary abscess in a 34-weeks' gestation woman, managed with a transsphenoidal evacuation and irrigation procedure alongside antibiotic therapy (cultures were positive for Streptococcus viridans ). The following day, the patient went into labour and underwent an emergency caesarean section 13 . The other case involved a maxillary and ethmoid sinusitis and temporal lobe abscess in a 36-weeks' gestation woman, managed by caesarean section under spinal anaesthesia and a 4-week course of antibiotics (with no neurosurgical procedure and no bacteria cultured) 12 .…”

“…The following day, the patient went into labour and underwent an emergency caesarean section. 13 The other case involved a maxillary and ethmoid sinusitis and temporal lobe abscess in a 36-weeks' gestation woman, managed by caesarean section under spinal anaesthesia and a 4-week course of antibiotics (with no neurosurgical procedure and no bacteria cultured). 12 Epidural collections in pregnancy occur most commonly as a complication of regional anaesthesia; however, there have been four reported cases of spontaneous spinal epidural abscess in pregnancy, presumably relating to transient bacteraemia and seeding, all of which required emergency laminectomy and decompression.…”

“…A search of the Medline database was performed using the search terms ‘Pott's puffy tumour and pregnancy’, ‘brain abscess and pregnancy’ and ‘complicated sinusitis in pregnancy’. Two cases of sinogenic brain abscess in pregnancy were identified 12 , 13 . A small number of spontaneous spinal epidural abscesses in pregnancy have also been reported 14 – 17 …”

“…Two cases of sinogenic brain abscess in pregnancy were identified. 12,13 A small number of spontaneous spinal epidural abscesses in pregnancy have also been reported. [14][15][16][17] Our case represents the first report of Pott's puffy tumour in pregnancy, associated with both orbital and intracranial extension.…”