A 27-year-old man present with complaints of loss of libido and erectile dysfunction since a year. On questioning, he gives history of headache, dull aching, global, not associated with nausea or vomiting, usually relieved by painkillers, present on 5 days a week. He has also noticed that sometimes he bumped into objects on his sides while walking. He has also noticed constipation and weight gain. On examination, he is 160 cm tall with a BMI 25 kg/m2. Blood pressure 110/70 mm of Hg, no postural drop. Confrontation test reveals bilateral temporal hemianopia. Testicular volume 15 mL soft bilateral. No galactorrhea is elicited. Ankle jerks delayed. Laboratory investigations are as follows: Hemoglobin 10.5 g/dL, normocytic normochromic anemia. Testosterone 100 ng/dL, LH 0.01 IU/L, FSH 0.01 IU/L, TSH 2 microIU/L, free T4 0.68 ng/dL. Cortisol 2.8 mg/dL. Prolactin 47 ng/mL from one lab and 1780 ng/mL from another lab. Automated perimetry reveal bitemporal hemianopia. Magnetic resonance imaging of the hypothalamic pituitary region reveals 2.4 cm tall, pituitary mass with suprasellar extension with compression of the optic chiasm without parasellar extension. A diagnosis of pituitary macroadenoma probably macroprolactinoma with hypopituitarism is made.
How is the hypopituitarism managed in this patient?
Medicine
Patients with macroprolactinomas (>10 mm in diameter) and hypo-pituitarism should receive standard hormone replacement therapy as any other patient with one exception. Initiation of growth hormone (GH) and gonadal steroid replacement should be delayed until after normoprolactinemia and/or tumor shrinkage are achieved, given that both GH and gonadal steroid deficiencies can be restored by normalization of prolactin levels compared with other deficiencies of the pituitary axis.
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