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Hypopituitarism in Neurocritical Patients: A Case Report
Michele Iovino1, Nicola Iovine, Fiorentino Mondillo
1Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Eboli Hospital, Salerno, Italy. micheleiovino06@tin.it.
Background:
Besides changes in pituitary hormones secretion observed during the acute phase of stroke as an adaptive response to injury or an effect of drugs, a true hypopituitarism due to ischemic and/or hemorrhagic damage at the hypothalamus and/or pituitary gland can develop after a stroke.
Case Report:
We report a case of a 72-year-old woman showing clinical signs and laboratory data suggesting a secondary adrenal insufficiency following a recent acute brain ischemia. Cortisone therapy significantly improved this pituitary dysfunction.
Conclusions:
Clinicians must pay attention to the hypothalamic-pituitary axis in neurocritical patients because hormonal replacement therapy may be life-saving.
