Pituitary abscess following general sepsis in a diabetic patient.

SINCE Glinski 1 and Simmonds 2 in 1913 and 1914 described pituitary abscesses accompanying systemic bacterial infection there have been only two such reports in the world literature. 3,4 We now report the case of a patient with diabetes mellitus and fatal Escherichia coli septicemia in whom severe hypoglycemic reactions developed. An abscess of the pituitary gland was found on postmortem examination. Report of a Case A 47-year-old woman with a ten-year history of diabetes mellitus was admitted to the hospital because of agitation and disorientation. Her temperature was 38 C, pulse rate 120 beats per minute, and blood pressure 70/50 mm Hg. She had been taking 40 units of isophane insulin suspension daily, with good control of diabetes and without any history of hypoglycemia or ketoacidosis. On admission, blood glucose level was 400 mg/100 ml with glycosuria (3+ ) and albuminuria (3+ ), as well as many white blood cells (WBC)