Abstract

ROTONDARO, Julio C. et al. Pituitary cryptococcoma: a strange case of secondary granulomatous hypophysitis. Medicina (B. Aires) [online]. 2023, vol.83, n.6, pp.1007-1012. ISSN 0025-7680.

Hypophysitis is a pathology with low incidence and prevalence. Likewise, deep fungal infections in immuno competent patients also represent a rare phenomenon. Even rarer is the case described below, where these two mentioned elements are combined, namely: pituitary cryptococcoma or granulomatous hypophysitis caused by said pathogen in a host without altered immune response.

After research in PubMed, there are limited cases in the medical literature of granulomatous hypophysitis caused by Cryptococcus spp., which simulated a pituitary macroadenoma by clinical and imaging manifestations. We did not find reports in which there is no evidence of involvement of the meningeal tissue.

The fungal etiology is scarcely described in the reference guidelines for hypophysitis and we believe that Cryptococcus spp. it should be taken into account in the differential diagnosis of secondary granuloma tous hypophysitis since it is a ubiquitous pathogen and the treatment is substantially different from other entities.

It becomes more relevant given the current trend towards the use of high-dose systemic glucocorticoids for the treatment of hypophysitis, which could have generated greater damage if the correct diagnosis had not been made.

Keywords : Pituitary cryptococcoma; Secondary gran ulomatous hypophysitis; Immunocompetent; Cryptococ cus spp..

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )