A review of pituitary abscess: our experience with surgical resection and nursing care

Pituitary abscess (PA) is a rare lesion in the saddle area with a high rate of misdiagnosis. Because of its non-specific characteristics, PA is potentially responsible for high morbidity and mortality. Four patients over a 5-year period presented with headache, blurred vision and hormonal deficiencies, and none of them had undergone previous resection of pituitary lesions. In view of the characteristic MR findings, both PA and PA recurrence were included as potential diagnoses. Three patients underwent transsphenoidal drainage of the abscess, and one was subjected to a right pterional approach to remove the abscess. During the 2-year follow-up, two patients suffered from PA recurrence 2 months after discharge and required another operation. Because there are no unique characteristics of the specific imaging features, PA is easily confused with other pituitary diseases such as Rathke’s cyst and craniopharyngioma. With the advancement of techniques, surgical removal has proven to be an extremely effective treatment, which validates the diagnosis and guides future treatment plans.