Quality of Life After Endoscopic Surgical Management of Pituitary Adenomas

Neurosurgery 90:81–91, 2022

Patient-reported quality of life (QOL) is a vital metric for surgical success.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of surgery on QOL in the largest prospectively collected, longitudinal cohort of surgically managed pituitary adenomas.
METHODS: A consecutive surgical adenoma cohort (n=304) between late 2016 and mid- 2020 underwent a scheduled overall (Anterior Skull Base Questionnaire-35) and sinonasal- specific (Sinonasal Outcome Test-22) QOL assessment. Scores were stratified by adenoma subtype and analyzed for clinical predictors of QOL changes.
RESULTS: The average age was 53.8 ± 16 yr, and 53% of participants were female. 60.9% of adenomas were nonfunctioning while adrenocorticotropic hormone adenomas (16.4%), growth hormone adenomas (14.1%), and prolactinomas (5.9%) were the most prevalent secreting adenomas. Baseline overall QOL differed between tumor types (P = .006), with adrenocorticotropic hormone adenomas worse than growth hormone adenomas (P = .03) and nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas (NFPA) (P < .001). Sinonasal QOL worsened in the 3 wk after surgery but returned to baseline by 6 wk and beyond. Overall QOL worsened at 3 wk after surgery (P < .001) but significantly improved from baseline by 3 mo (P = .009) and beyond (P < .001). Emotional functioning improved soon after surgery, followed by performance and pain, and then, by 6 mo, physical function and vitality. Predictors of improved QOL were sellar/suprasellar lesions (P = .01), prolactinomas (P = .003), and NFPA (P = .04). Conversely, new postoperative hypopituitarism (P = .04) and larger adenoma volume (P = .04) predicted QOL worsening.
CONCLUSION: QOL is worsened after surgery at early time points. Prolactinomas and NFPA enjoy significant QOL improvements from surgery as early as 3 mo postoperatively. Other functional tumors may experience early benefits in younger patients without hypopituitarism and when isolated to the sellar/suprasellar region. These findings provide valuable information for counseling patients and setting expectations for surgery.

Endoscopic Transsphenoidal Surgery for Cushing Disease

Endoscopic for Cushing Disease

Neurosurgery 72:240–247, 2013

The efficacy of endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery (ETS) for Cushing disease has not been clearly established.

OBJECTIVE: To assess efficacy of a pure endoscopic approach for treatment of Cushing disease and determine predictors of remission.

METHODS: A prospectively acquired database of 61 patients undergoing ETS was reviewed. Remission was defined as postoperative morning serum cortisol of ,5 mg/dL or normal or decreased 24-hour urine-free cortisol level in follow-up.

RESULTS: Overall, hypercortisolemia resolved in 58 of 61 patients (95%) by discharge. Tumor size did not predict resolution of hypercortisolemia at discharge (microadenomas [97%], magnetic resonance imaging-negative Cushing [100%], macroadenomas [87%]). At 2- to 3-month evaluations, 45 of 49 patients (91.8%) were in remission. Fifty patients were followed for at least 12 months (mean, 28 months; range, 12-72). Forty-two (84%) achieved remission from a single ETS. In these patients, there was no significant difference in remission rates between microadenomas (93%), magnetic resonance imaging-negative (70%), and macroadenomas (77%). Patients with history of previous surgery (n = 14, 23%) were 9 times less likely to achieve follow-up remission (P = .021). In-house cortisol level of ,5.7 mg/dL provided the best prediction of follow-up remission (sensitivity 88.6%, specificity 83.3%). Postoperative diabetes insipidus occurred transiently in 7 patients (9%) and permanently in 3 (5%). One patient experienced postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leak that resolved with further surgery.

CONCLUSION: ETS for Cushing disease provides high rates of remission with low rates of complications regardless of size. Although patients with a history of previous surgery are less likely to achieve remission, the majority can still achieve remission following treatment.

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