Pituitary abscess: a series of six cases

Pituitary abscess is a rare condition occurring in various age groups. Only about a hundred cases have been reported in the literature. We describe six cases that constitute 0.6% of all the pituitary lesions operated at this centre in the last 10 years. All the patients presented with visual symptoms, though systemic features of infection were present in only two cases. The abscess was seen in association with adenoma in two cases and Rathke's cleft cyst in one. One patient developed an abscess following surgery for pituitary adenoma. The offending organisms was fungal in two cases, mycobacterium in one, bacterial in one and two cultures were sterile. Preoperative diagnosis is difficult and a high degree of suspicion in ring enhancing lesions of the sella is required.