Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2023 Aug 15;15(8):e43524.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.43524. eCollection 2023 Aug.

Pituitary Apoplexy as a Complication of COVID-19 Infection

Hassan Hussain  1 , Kvc Janaka  2 , D T Muthukuda  3 , S G Perera  4
Affiliations
Case Reports

Pituitary Apoplexy as a Complication of COVID-19 Infection

Hassan Hussain et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Pituitary apoplexy (PA) is a complication occurring due to hemorrhage and/or infarction in a pituitary adenoma due to various pathophysiological mechanisms. Herein, we report a case of a 47-year-old previously healthy male who presented with fever and reduced level of consciousness for one day. During the hospital stay, he was diagnosed with PA in a background of pituitary macroadenoma along with positive nasopharyngeal swabs for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Even though the PA was successfully managed, the patient succumbed four days after admission due to respiratory failure caused by severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

Keywords: covid-19; ground-glass opacities; headache; pituitary apoplexy; pituitary macroadenoma; pneumonia; sellar lesion; thrombocytopenia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Non-contrast computed tomography (NCCT) brain sagittal view demonstrating a hyperdense large sellar lesion with hypodensity within the hyperdense area seen. Suprasellar and parasellar extensions were also noted. Indicates a possible pituitary macro adenoma with bleeding into the tumor.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Pituitary apoplexy associated with COVID-19 infection: review and a case report. Popov D, Hadzhiyanev A. Biotechnol Biotechnol Equip. 2022;36:75–81.
    1. Pituitary ​​​​apoplexy​​ with pituitary macroadenoma in a patient with ​​asymptomatic ​​​COVID- 19: ​​a case ​​​report. Alyami HS, Al Wadany MM, Almousa AS, Khawaji EA, Almousa AM, Albaqshi MA, Alharbi AS. https://www.cureus.com/articles/130669-pituitary-apoplexy-with-pituitary... Cureus. 2022;14:0. - PMC - PubMed
    1. A rare case of SARS-CoV-2 infection associated with pituitary apoplexy without comorbidities. Ghosh R, Roy D, Roy D, Mandal A, Dutta A, Naga D, Benito-León J. J Endocr Soc. 2021;5:0. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pituitary apoplexy presenting as ophthalmoplegia and altered level of consciousness without headache. Salehi N, Firek A, Munir I. Case Rep Endocrinol. 2018;2018:7124364. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Coronavirus disease 2019 infection and pituitary apoplexy: a causal relation or just a coincidence? A case report and review of the literature. Kamel WA, Najibullah M, Saleh MS, Azab WA. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8326077/ Surg Neurol Int. 2021;12:317. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources