Pituitary Apoplexy Attributed to COVID-19 Infection in the Absence of an Underlying Macroadenoma or Other Identifiable Cause

Stephen J Bordes; Simone Phang-Lyn; Edinson Najera; Hamid Borghei-Razavi; Badih Adada

doi:10.7759/cureus.13315

Pituitary Apoplexy Attributed to COVID-19 Infection in the Absence of an Underlying Macroadenoma or Other Identifiable Cause

Cureus. 2021 Feb 12;13(2):e13315. doi: 10.7759/cureus.13315.

Authors

Stephen J Bordes¹, Simone Phang-Lyn², Edinson Najera³, Hamid Borghei-Razavi⁴, Badih Adada³

Affiliations

¹ Surgical Anatomy, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, USA.
² Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, USA.
³ Neurosurgery, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, USA.
⁴ Neurosurgery, Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic - Taussig Cancer Center, Cleveland, USA.

Abstract

The novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is responsible for an array of extrapulmonary manifestations, including direct and indirect neurological complications. Currently, all published cases noting pituitary apoplexy in patients with COVID-19 have discovered underlying pituitary macroadenomas. Herein, we describe the first documented case, to our knowledge, of pituitary apoplexy attributed solely to COVID-19 in the absence of other identifiable causes. While much remains to be discovered and understood regarding COVID-19, we discuss the potential pathophysiology of COVID-19-associated pituitary apoplexy and raise awareness of this clinical complication.

Keywords: covid-19; neurosurgery; pituitary apoplexy; sars-cov-2.

Publication types

Case Reports