Pituitary apoplexy initially mistaken for bacterial meningitis

Pituitary apoplexy masquerading as bacterial meningitis.

1812 CMAJ, November 6, 2012, 184(16) © 2012 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors A67-year-old woman with treated hypertension presented with headache, vomiting, light sensitivity and partial loss of vision. On examination, she had a temperature of 38.4°C and left temporal hemianopia. Her examination was otherwise unremarkable. Investigations showed a C-reactive protein level of 295 (no...

Pituitary Apoplexy Mimicking Meningitis

Pituitary apoplexy is a rare but life-threatening disorder. Clinical presentation of this condition includes severe headaches, impaired consciousness, fever, visual disturbance, and variable ocular paresis. The clinical presentation of meningeal irritation is very rare. Nonetheless, if present and associated with fever, pituitary apoplexy may be misdiagnosed as a meningitis. We experienced a ca...

Pituitary Apoplexy Complicated by Chemical Meningitis and Cerebral Infarction

A 41-yr-old man was admitted with acute headache, neck stiffness, and febrile sensation. Cerebrospinal fluid examination showed pleocytosis, an increased protein level and, a decreased glucose concentration. No organisms were observed on a culture study. An imaging study revealed pituitary macroadenoma with hemorrhage. On the 7th day of the attack, confusion, dysarthria, and right-sided facial ...

Acute bacterial meningitis in young adults mistaken for substance abuse.

Pituitary apoplexy.

Pituitary apoplexy, a rare clinical syndrome secondary to abrupt hemorrhage or infarction, complicates 2%-12% of pituitary adenomas, especially nonfunctioning tumors. Headache of sudden and severe onset is the main symptom, sometimes associated with visual disturbances or ocular palsy. Signs of meningeal irritation or altered consciousness may complicate the diagnosis. Precipitating factors (in...