Isolated sellar tuberculoma presenting with panhypopituitarism: clinical, diagnostic considerations and literature review

A rare cause of acute hypernatraemia: Diabetes insipidus secondary to suprasellar tuberculoma

Suprasellar tuberculomas are uncommon causes of intracranial tumours worldwide, even in areas endemic for tuberculosis. Often, they present with combinations of pituitary hormone involvement, which can lead to various complications due to hypopituitarism. We present a rare case of suprasellar tuberculoma leading to diabetes inspidus.

Primary pituitary tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that involves any organ. However, the primary pituitary tuberculosis is an extremely rare disease. Intracranial tuberculomas account for 0.15-5% of intracranial space-occupying lesions, of which, pituitary as the primary site is unusual, and easily misdiagnosed as pituitary adenoma. In this setting, the late diagnosis can result in permanent endocrine dysfunction. We report the case of a 50-year-old woman who presented to the neurosurgery outpatient department with complaints of progressively increasing headache and diminished vision over the last year. On the clinical examination, the patient was conscious and oriented. The routine hematological and biochemical workup showed an increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and increased prolactin levels. The radiological working diagnosis was consistent with pituitary macroadenoma. No other radiological and/or clinical clue that could elicit the suspicion of pulmonary or extrapulmonary lesions of tuberculosis was found. The transsphenoidal endonasal tumor excision was done. The histopathology showed numerous epithelioid cell granulomas, Langhans giant cells along with scant necrosis. Ziehl Neelsen staining demonstrated acid-fast bacilli, and the final diagnosis of pituitary tuberculoma was made. We report this rare case of pituitary lesion that may be included in the differential diagnosis of sellar lesions to avoid unnecessary surgical interventions, especially in regions where the disease is endemic.

Pituitary Tuberculoma: An Uncommon Pathology

Pituitary tuberculomas are extremely rare with only few cases reported in the literature. Intracranial tuberculoma commonly presents with gradual onset of headache and visual disturbances with or without systemic symptoms. We reported such a case who presented with headache without any visual symptoms, occasional vomiting, and significant weight loss. Contrast magnetic resonance imaging scan was suggestive of pituitary macroadenoma. Transnasal transsphenoidal excision of the lesion (microscopic + endoscopic) was done. Histopathological examination revealed possibility of tuberculosis. Patient was put on standard antituberculosis treatment and discharged in a stable condition.

Third ventricular tuberculoma mimicking as a tumor: Report of a very rare case

Intracranial tuberculoma is a common neurosurgical problem in developing countries; however, intraventricular tuberculoma is a rare entity. Here, we report a rare case of third ventricular tuberculoma in a 21-year-old girl who presented with features of raised intracranial pressure. Radiological findings and management of third ventricular tuberculoma would be discussed and literature regarding such lesions will be reviewed.

Pituitary tuberculoma with subsequent drug-resistant tuberculous lymphadenopathy: an uncommon presentation of a common disease

We report a case of pituitary tuberculosis which presented as a non-functioning pituitary macroadenoma, and subsequently developed multidrug-resistant tuberculous lymphadenopathy. Pituitary tuberculosis continues to be a rare presentation of tuberculosis, but incidence and prevalence are expected to grow with increasing numbers of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Isolated pituitary tuberculosis is rare. Tuberculosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis in evaluation of a sellar mass.

Clinical presentation and magnetic resonance findings in sellar tuberculomas

Background and Importance. Sellar tuberculomas are extremely rare lesions with nonspecific clinical manifestations. The tuberculous infection of the pituitary gland and sellar region is characterized by the presence of an acute or chronic inflammatory reaction and may occur in the absence of systemic tuberculosis. The diagnosis is difficult prior to the surgery. An adequate diagnostic and antituberculous drugs usually result in a good outcome. Clinical Presentation. We report four cases of sellar tuberculoma, 3/1 female/male, age range: 50–57 years. All patients had visual disturbances and low levels of cortisol. Conclusion. The clinical diagnosis of sellar tuberculoma is a challenge and should be suspected when a sellar lesion shows abnormal enhancement pattern and stalk involvement, and absence of signal suppression in FLAIR.

Isolated Pituitary Tuberculoma

Pituitary tuberculomas are extremely rare, even in the developing countries where tuberculosis is endemic. We report a rare case of isolated pituitary tuberculoma mimicking a pituitary adenoma or a Rathke’s cleft cyst in Japan, a developed country. The patient was a 69-year-old woman presented with visual disturbance. Head magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with contrast enhancement revealed an isolated intrasellar mass showing central hypointensity with an irregularly enhancing rim. She was operated on via an endoscopic transsphenoidal approach. Histopathological findings and an interferon-gamma release assay were highly suspicious of an isolated tuberculous granuloma. After proper infection control management, she was treated with four-drug antituberculous therapy (ATT). Follow-up MRI showed no recurrence 3 years after the discontinuation of ATT. An isolated pituitary tuberculoma has rarely been reported, especially in developed countries. In conclusion, neurosurgeons should consider an isolated pituitary tuberculoma as one of the differential diagnoses for pituitary tumors, because special management for infection control is required for tuberculosis. An interferon-gamma release assay is helpful for the difficult diagnosis of an isolated pituitary tuberculoma with inactive tuberculosis.

Sellar-suprasellar tuberculomas in children: 2 cases and literature review

Sellar and suprasellar tuberculomas are rare. Patients with these lesions usually experience headache, vomiting, and hypofunction of pituitary gland; imaging reveals an enhancing sellar-suprasellar mass. We report 2 rare cases of sellar-suprasellar tuberculomas in children aged 8 and 6 years. One child presented with features of headache and vomiting, and the other presented with posterior pituitary dysfunction. In both cases, imaging revealed sellar-suprasellar masses. Both cases were multidrug-resistant tuberculomas. We discuss sellar-suprasellar tuberculomas, a rare form of neurotuberculosis in the background of an overall increase in multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, especially in children.