[Adenomatous hypophyseal apoplexy. Clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of a frequently misdiagnosed emergency state].

Pituitary adenoma apoplexy was considered an acute life-threatening condition until more benign and even asymptomatic courses were found by advanced neuroimaging procedures. Necrosis and hemorrhage in the pituitary adenoma can cause acute enlargement of the tumor. sometimes with rupture of the tumor capsule and bleeding into the subarachnoid space and surrounding parts of the brain. Clinical symptoms include acute or subacute headache in combination with signs of meningeal irritation and neuroophthalmological and cerebral dysfunction. Severe panhypopituitarism may be an additional complication. Acute blindness due to compression of the optic chiasm and symptomatic compression of basal cerebral arteries require immediate transsphenoid tumor resection. If panhypopituitarism is suspected, immediate hormone substitution is necessary.