Primary pituitary abscess with atypical imaging features: A rare case report

Introduction and importance: A pituitary abscess (PA) is an extremely rare disease. It is characterized by the presence of an infected purulent collection within the Sella turcica. PAs are categorized in two categories: primary, when the pituitary is normal before the infection, or secondary, when there is a pre-existing sellar pathology (e.g., pituitary adenoma, Rathke's cleft cysts, or craniopharyngioma), meningitis, paranasal sinusitis, or head surgery, which may be indicative of the source of infection. Case presentation: We presented a case of a 52-year-old male with visual disturbances. Both a computerized tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a sellar mass lesion, initially suspected to be a pituitary tumor. During transsphenoidal surgery for excision of the pituitary mass, an amount of pus was drained, indicating a pituitary abscess, which was confirmed by positive Staphylococcus aureus colonies in the culture. After surgery, the patient received antibiotic treatment for 12 weeks. After two years of follow-up, the patient remained free of complications and did not require hormone replacement therapy. Clinical discussion: In previous research, there were a total of 488 patients, of those, 318 were primary pituitary abscess. Preoperative diagnosis is still difficult due to a combination of nonspecific symptoms and imaging findings. Endonasal trans-sphenoidal pus evacuation, culture, and individualized antibiotic therapy are available treatment options. Conclusion: Pituitary abscess is a rare illness, but it should always be considered when evaluating a patient with a fast visual decline. Following the diagnosis, surgery and antibiotics should be started immediately. Proper therapy usually yields a positive effect.