A case of pituitary apoplexy, which was initially misdiagnosed as ‘acute
frontal sinusitis’, is reported. The presenting symptoms and signs of
the patient were headache, moderate fever, left periorbital edema,
marked tenderness over the left frontal sinus and purulent secretion
over the left middle turbinate and nasopharynx. These clinical symptoms
were wrongly perceived as complicated frontal sinusitis. The CT scan and
the elective right carotid angiography showed a pituitary adenoma.
Therefore pituitary apoplexy of a preexisting pituitary adenoma was
diagnosed. The patient underwent surgical removal of the adenoma and his
postoperative course was uneventful. Thus otolaryngologists should
consider pituitary apoplexy in the differential diagnosis of pathologies
concerning the anatomic area of the anterior cranial fossa
