ABSTRACT
We report a case of sellar/suprasellar germinoma in a 17-year-old female which was misdiagnosed as pituitary adenoma both clinically and on imaging. Patient presented with severe headache of short duration and diminished visual acuity in left eye. Endocrinological work up revealed hyperprolactinemia and markedly reduced blood cortisol. MRI revealed homogenously enhanced intrasellar mass with suprasellar extension showing characteristic dumbbell conguration (snowman sign). Provisional diagnosis of pituitary adenoma was made and transsphenoidal resection of tumor was performed which on histology and immunohistochemistry proved to be germinoma. Sellar/suprasellar germinoma without diabetes insipidus is considered to be very difcult to diagnose preoperatively and the differentiation from pituitary adenoma based on MRI ndings was not possible in this case. However it is suggested that in a child with visual impairment, endocrine dysfunction and sellar/suprasellar mass a possibility of germ cell tumor should always be considered in differential diagnosis and a frozen section has to be performed to avoid excessive dissection.
ABSTRACT
Background@#Rapid visual acuity (VA) decline was a common complaint in patients with sellar/suprasellar germinoma. In our hospital, 3.4 Gy/2f of emergency irradiation was applied to save patient VA and enable subsequent chemoradiotherapy. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of emergency irradiation with 3.4 Gy/2f in patients with sellar/suprasellar germinoma who had rapid VA decline.@*Methods@#From January 2014 to December 2017, 33 patients with sellar/suprasellar germinoma who complained of VA decline within 3 months received 3.4 Gy/2f of emergency irradiation in Beijing Tiantan Hospital. The best-corrected VA (BCVA) and mean deviation (MD) were measured. Correlations between visual function change and clinical factors, including age at diagnosis, duration of VA decline, extent of tumor regression, serum level of tumor markers, were analyzed.@*Results@#Among 33 patients with sellar/suprasellar germinoma, the median diameter and volume of sellar/suprasellar lesions were 32 mm (range: 5–55 mm) and 12.9 cm3 (range 0.6–58.5 cm3), respectively. Data on pre- and post-emergency-irradiation BCVA were obtained in 32 patients. For the right eyes, BCVA was improved in 23 patients (71.9%), unchanged in 7 (21.9%), and worsened in 2 (6.2%); and for the left eyes, these numbers were 27 (84.4%), 4 (12.5%), and 1 (3.1%), respectively. In terms of the logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution = Log (1/BCVA) score, the improvement was significant in both eyes (P < 0.001). In terms of MD, six patients had paired data and the improvement was marginal in the right eyes (P = 0.068) and significant in the left eyes (P = 0.043). However, no clinical factor was found to have correlation with visual function improvement.@*Conclusion@#In sellar/suprasellar germinoma patients with VA decline, 3.4 Gy/2f of emergency irradiation was effective in improving visual function.
ABSTRACT
Abstract@#Sellar-suprasellar tuberculoma represents 1% of all intracranial tuberculomas, which can convert into a pituitary abscess. @*Objectives@#This paper aims to present a case of a common lesion in an uncommon site,discuss the challenges in diagnosis in terms of clinical manifestations, imaging and histologic findings, discuss aholistic approach to treatment,and enumerate identified clinical outcomes of reported cases in literature. @*Methodology@#This paper presents a case report of a sellar-suprasellar tubercular abscess,and reviews similar cases reported in literature. @*Results@#This is acase of a 16-year old female, Filipino, presenting with a chronic history of intermittent headache, fever, blurring of peripheral vision, polyuria, and increased sleeping time. On neurologic examination, the patient had bitemporal hemianopsia and decreased visual acuity on the right eye. Neuroimaging revealed a hypodense lesion at the sellar-suprasellar area with rim-enhancement on CT and MRI, and laboratory findings suggestive of panhypopituitarism. She underwent Right Pterional Craniotomy and intraoperatively there was note of a firm, yellowish capsule with intracapsular yellowish viscous fluid, which was positive for acid fast bacilli. Marsupialization of abscess was performed and hormonal replacement and anti-tubercular medications were given. @*Conclusion@#Tuberculoma in the sellar-suprasellar area, can impinge on the optic chiasm, producing bitemporal hemianopsia and pituitary dysfunction.It presents like other sellar-suprasellar masses with non-specific symptoms and these masses share similar features on cranial CT scan. Due to the complexity of the disease, treatment of sellar-suprasellar TB requires integrated management of an infectious disease expert, neurologist, neurosurgeon, endocrinologist, and adolescent medicine specialist. Outcomes of four other cases found in literature were generally good after aspiration or drainage of the abscess followed by TB treatment for 15 to 18 months with resulting improvement invision, marked reduction in the size or complete resolution of the mass, but with one case having loss of pituitary function.
Subject(s)
Child , AbscessABSTRACT
Choroid plexus papillomas (CPPs) are relatively rare neuroectodermal tumors that develop from choroid plexus epithelial cells and are usually restricted to the ventricles. Extraventricular CPPs are very unusual and can be difficult to diagnose and treat. A 50-year-old male patient was admitted to our clinic complaining of headache and visual deterioration. Neurological examination found no abnormalities except decreased light perception and secondary optic atrophy in the left eye. Endocrine testing revealed normal levels of hormones produced by the pituitary and target glands. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed a huge regular-shaped lesion in the sellar-suprasellar region occupying the sella turcica and extending into the suprasellar cistern and planum sphenoidale. The lesion was completely excised by microsurgery via an ordinary left-sided pterional approach. Histopathology identified the lesion as a choroid plexus papilloma. Following the case report, literature on the origin, differential diagnosis, and treatment of this rare tumor is reviewed.