Pituitary adenoma in children.

Pituitary adenoma is an uncommon intracranial tumor of children. The authors retrospectively reviewed the records of 10 patients younger than 17 years of age with pituitary adenoma. Five patients had visual loss at presentation. Four of these five patients with visual loss and extrasellar tumor extension were adolescents (12-15 years of age). Seven of 10 patients underwent neurosurgery. Of the five patients with visual loss, three patients experienced visual improvement, one patient was unchanged, and one patient did not have follow-up. The visual loss in these patients tended to be more severe and more likely to be associated with optic atrophy than adult patients. Although they are relatively uncommon, ophthalmologists should be aware that pituitary adenomas may occur in children and that these tumors when present in the pubertal period may be more likely to exhibit extrasellar extension or invasiveness.