Efficacy and safety of pituitary adenomectomy purely endoscopically via a transsphenoidal approach in elderly patients

Objective To investigate the clinical effect of surgical treatment of pituitary adenoma via neuroendoscopic-assisted transsphenoidal approach in elderly patients. Methods This was a prospective case-control study.Eighty-five patients with senile pituitary adenoma admitted to our hospital from May 2015 to February 2018 were consecutively enrolled in our study.Patients with pituitary adenoma were divided into the control group(n=42)undergoing conventional microsurgery and the observation group(n=43)receiving microsurgery via neuroendoscopic-assisted transsphenoidal approach.The effect of surgery, perioperative indexes(intraoperative blood loss, operation time, hospitalization time)and the serum level changes of prolactin(PRL), growth hormone(GH)and adrenocorticotropic hormone(ACTH)before and after surgery were recorded and compared between two groups.The incidences of complications in both groups and the dimensions of life quality(physical, cognitive, emotional, social activities)before and after surgery were calculated and assessed. Results The total effective rate was higher in the observation group(88.4%, 38/43)than in the control group(69.0%, 29/42)(P 0.05). However, serum levels of PRL, GH and ACTH were deceased in both groups at 3 days after operation compared with before operation.The incidence of complications was lower in the observation group than in the control group(4.7% or 2/43 vs.21.4% or 9/42, P<0.05). The quality of life scores of the cognitive, role, physical, emotional and social dimensions were higher in the observation group than in the control group(P<0.01). Conclusions Neuroendoscopic-assisted transsphenoidal approach for surgical treatment of senile pituitary adenomas has less intraoperative blood loss, shorter operation time and lower complication rate, improves the endocrine hormone levels and the quality of life, and shortens the hospital stays. Key words: ACTH-secreting pituitary adenoma; Neuroendoscopes; Transsphenoidal approach; Pituitary adenoma resection