Prospective Evaluation of Incidental Pituitary Imaging Findings in the Sella Turcica

Reported rates of incidentally discovered pituitary sellar lesions vary widely, at least in part because of the inadvertent inclusion of patients with a history suspicious for a pituitary disorder. We prospectively evaluated the incidence of truly incidental sellar findings detected on imaging at a large academic medical center.

Deidentified data were extracted from the electronic medical record of adults who underwent diagnostic computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) over a 1-year period for any cause unrelated to known or suspected pituitary disorder both in inpatient and outpatient settings. Patients with International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, (ICD-9) and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes indicative of a sellar lesion and those with symptoms suggestive of sellar/parasellar mass effects were excluded.

Of 9572 scans performed during the 1-year study period, 3840 met the inclusion criteria to comprise the study cohort; 13 were manually excluded because of findings or symptoms of sellar masses not otherwise captured. The overwhelming majority of evaluable images (n = 3782) showed no sellar lesions. Truly incidental sellar findings were detected in 45 (1.2%), most commonly among inpatients (P < .001). Partially empty sella and empty sella were the most frequent findings, and were twice as likely to be detected on MRI vs CT. All other incidentally discovered lesions, including one microadenoma and one macroadenoma, were detected only by MRI.

Frequency of incidental sellar lesions in patients with no known or suspected history of pituitary disorder is low. Given the small likelihood of aggressive behavior in these lesions, the clinical significance of truly incidentally discovered sellar lesions should not be overestimated.