Pituitary apoplexy.

Pituitary apoplexy, a rare neurological emergency resulting from pituitary haemorrhage or infarction, should be considered a possibility in patients presenting with headache. Six cases are reported. The patients, four females and two males, ranged in age from 18 to 53 years. In only two had pituitary pathology previously been recognised. Headache occurred in all patients, visual field defects in four, ocular paresis in two, and subsequent hypopituitarism in five. The headache type suggested intracranial catastrophe in only one patient. A possible precipitant was noted for three of the episodes, including, in one patient, salmonella gastroenteritis. Cortisol deficiency during the acute event was common. Semi-urgent surgery was performed in two patients. In two others, prompt resolution of symptoms occurred following administration of dexamethasone.