Rare Case of a Disappearing Pituitary Adenoma During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic

David P Bray; C Arturo Solares; Nelson M Oyesiku

doi:10.1016/j.wneu.2020.11.073

Rare Case of a Disappearing Pituitary Adenoma During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic

World Neurosurg. 2021 Feb:146:148-149. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2020.11.073. Epub 2020 Nov 18.

Authors

David P Bray¹, C Arturo Solares², Nelson M Oyesiku³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Electronic address: dbray3@emory.edu.
² Department of Otolaryngology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
³ Department of Neurosurgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Abstract

We present a case of a 28-year-old woman with a history of severe headaches and pituitary insufficiency. She was found to have a large, enhancing, sellar mass consistent with a pituitary adenoma. The patient's surgical care was delayed due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and follow-up imaging revealed spontaneous involution of the sellar mass. Spontaneous involution of pituitary masses has been described but not often encountered in clinical practice. This case highlights that follow-up imaging is necessary when scheduling elective surgeries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Pituitary adenoma; Pituitary apoplexy.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Adenoma / diagnostic imaging*
Adult
COVID-19 / epidemiology
COVID-19 / prevention & control*
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Neoplasm Regression, Spontaneous* / pathology
Pandemics
Pituitary Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging*