Candidal pituitary abscess: case report

Neurosurgery. 1995 May;36(5):1009-12; discussion 1012-3. doi: 10.1227/00006123-199505000-00018.

Abstract

We report a case of a culture-proven intrasellar Candida albicans abscess. A 36-year-old woman presented with a history of headaches, menstrual irregularities, and mild symptoms of diabetes insipidus. She was neurologically intact at the time of a transsphenoidal surgery for a presumed pituitary adenoma. An extensive work-up revealed that although the patient was seronegative for human immunodeficiency virus, she was immunocompromised with a T-cell dysfunction. Fungal abscesses of the pituitary gland have rarely been reported. This is the first documented case of a patient who is seronegative for human immunodeficiency virus who becomes infected by an ordinarily innocuous fungus, Candida albicans.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Abscess / diagnosis
  • Abscess / surgery*
  • Adult
  • Candidiasis / diagnosis
  • Candidiasis / surgery*
  • Female
  • HIV Seronegativity
  • Humans
  • Immunocompromised Host
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Pituitary Diseases / diagnosis
  • Pituitary Diseases / surgery*
  • Postoperative Period