Meningoencephalitis complicated by pituitary insufficiency and a spontaneously resolving suprasellar mass

A 53-year-old woman presented with acute meningoencephalitis associated with anterior and posterior pituitary insufficiency. A computed axial tomogram (CT) of the head revealed a suprasellar mass. The meningoencephalitis, presumably of bacterial origin, resolved after antibiotic therapy and, on a repeat CT, the suprasellar mass had disappeared. Five months after the initial illness, the patient's diabetes insipidus had resolved, anterior pituitary function had improved, and there was no sign of the suprasellar mass. The presence of a suprasellar mass in conjunction with acute meningoencephalitis and anterior and posterior pituitary insufficiency should raise the suspicion that the mass is not neoplastic and may be infectious or inflammatory in origin.