Table 1.
Clinical cases of pituitary apoplexy reported so far in the context of COVID-19
| Author | Case patient | COVID-19 clinical presentation | Apoplexy clinical presentation | Pituitary imaging | Treatment and outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chan [60] | 28-year-old third trimester pregnant woman | Ear pain, body aches, chills and rhinorrhea | Mild headache, decreased visual acuity in the left eye | 2.2 cm × 2.5 cm × 2.0 cm cystic solid lesion with an expanded sella and hemorrhage | Endoscopic TNS after delivery; central hypothyroidism and hypogonadism |
| Ghosh [61] | 44-year-old woman | Intermittent fever | Severe headache and progressive asymmetric visual blurriness | 2.4 × 2.5 × 3.1 cm heterogeneous solid-cystic mass with fluid-fluid levels observing foci of blooming | Refused surgical intervention |
| Santos [62] | 47-year-old male | Asymptomatic | Frontal headache, diplopia and left visual acuity loss | 1.9 × 2.8 × 2.0 cm hyperdense mass impinging on the left optic chiasm | TNS and discharged without complications |
| Solorio-Pineda [63] | 27-year-old male | Fever and respiratory distress | Frontal headache and disorientation | 5.9 × 5.2 × 6.8 cm heterogeneous lesion with a hyperdense area | Worsening of the respiratory function and death |
| LaRoy [64] | 35-year-old male | Fevers, dysgeusia and anosmia | Retro-orbital headache | 7 × 8 × 8 mm small hyper-dense blood collection within the sella | Hospital monitoring and discharged with endocrinology follow up |
| Bordes [65] | 65-year-old woman | Malaise and cough associated with her previous COVID-19 | Worsening frontal and retro-orbital headache, photophobia and phonophobia | 14 mm heterogeneously enhancing sellar/suprasellar lesion with intrinsic high T1 signal areas | Hydrocortisone treatment and discharged with follow up; subsequently central hypothyroidism |
TNS transphenoidal surgery