Pituitary Apoplexy in Korea - Characteristics, Treatment Options and Outcomes.

Background: Reports on pituitary apoplexy in Korea are limited. There are two treatment options for pituitary apoplexy - surgical decompression and conservative management. In this study, we examined clinical presentation and outcomes following different therapies in Korean patients with pituitary apoplexy. Methods: Clinical data and treatment outcomes from 52 patients with pituitary apoplexy who visited Seoul National University Hospital between January 1992 and June 2008 were reviewed retrospectively. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to management options (a surgery group vs. a conservative management group) and their outcomes were compared. For patients who underwent surgery due to neurological symptoms, outcomes were compared between early and late surgery groups. Results: Headache (73.1%) was the most common presenting symptom, and more than half of the patients were reported to have visual symptoms. The most common type of pathology was a nonfunctioning pituitary adenoma (67.3%). Nine patients received conservative management and 43 underwent surgical decompression. Their recovery from neurological and endocrinological abnormalities were similar. Among patients who showed neurological symptoms, 9 underwent surgery within 1 week of symptom onset and 24 underwent surgery after 1 week. There was no significant difference between outcomes of early and late surgery groups except recovery from impaired visual deficit was greater in the late surgery group. Conclusion: Patients with pituitary apoplexy in Korea show similar clinical features as similar patients in other countries. In our study, there was no significant difference between clinical outcomes of the surgery group and the conservative treatment group. (J Korean Endocr Soc 23:247~253, 2009) ꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏꠏ