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Case Reports
. 2021 Apr 5;34(6):799-803.
doi: 10.1515/jpem-2020-0499. Print 2021 Jun 25.

Asymptomatic pituitary apoplexy induced by corticotropin-releasing hormone in a 14 year-old girl with Cushing's disease

Liliana Fonseca  1 , Diana Borges Duarte  1 , Joana Freitas  2 , Maria João Oliveira  2 , Isabel Ribeiro  3 , Cláudia Amaral  1 , Teresa Borges  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Asymptomatic pituitary apoplexy induced by corticotropin-releasing hormone in a 14 year-old girl with Cushing's disease

Liliana Fonseca et al. J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. .

Abstract

Objectives: Pituitary apoplexy is a rare complication of Cushing's disease (CD), especially in the paediatric age and even more rarely it can occur following anterior pituitary stimulation tests.

Case presentation: We report a case of a 14-year-old girl who was admitted to our Hospital for evaluation of a possible Cushing's syndrome (CS). Her symptoms and initial laboratory tests were suggestive of CD. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a microadenoma of the pituitary gland. As part of her evaluation she was submitted to a corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) stimulation test. Two and a half months later the patient was re-evaluated and presented with both clinical improvement of CS, biochemical resolution of hypercortisolism and tumour size reduction in the MRI, also evidencing a haemorrhagic component favouring the diagnosis of pituitary apoplexy after CRH stimulation test. The patient denied any episodes of severe headache, nausea, vomiting or visual changes.

Conclusions: To our knowledge, the authors report the first case of a pituitary apoplexy after a CRH stimulation test in the paediatric age.

Keywords: CRH stimulation test; Cushing’s disease; pituitary apoplexy.

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