抄録
The patient was a 28-year-old woman, para 0, who complained of headache and visual disturbance during the 5th month of her pregnancy. Ophthalmological tests showed impaired visual acuity on the right and irregular bitemporal hemianopsia with normal fundi. A computed tomography (CT) scan disclosed a round sellar mass extending into the suprasellar cistern. Laboratory examinations revealed mild hypopituitarism. After uneventful natural labor, a transsphenoidal hypophysectomy was carried out with diagnosis of non-functioning pituitary adenoma. The mass was firm, orange-yellow tissue which was indistinguishable from the normal pituitary gland. About two thirds of the tissue was resected. Histological examination showed a marked infiltration of lymphocytes with many folliculoid patterns. This finding was the same as in previous reports. The postoperative course was uneventful.
Lymphocytic adenohypophysitis is an apparently rare condition which occurs exclusively in pregnant or postpartum women. At present, it is believed to be an autoimmune disorder triggered by pregnancy. Because its symptoms and CT findings resemble those of pituitary adenoma, this disease should be kept in mind when evaluating any women with an intrasellar mass lesion during pregnancy or the postpartum period.
