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J Neurol Surg A Cent Eur Neurosurg 2022; 83(01): 031-038
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1723813
Original Article

Pineal Apoplexy: A Case Series and Review of the Literature

Martin Majovsky 
1   Department of Neurosurgery and Neurooncology, First Medical School, Charles University, Military University Hospital Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
,
David Netuka
1   Department of Neurosurgery and Neurooncology, First Medical School, Charles University, Military University Hospital Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
,
Radim Lipina
2   Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
,
Jan Mraček 
3   Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen, Charles University, University Hospital Pilsen – Pilsen, Czech Republic
,
Vladimír Beneš
1   Department of Neurosurgery and Neurooncology, First Medical School, Charles University, Military University Hospital Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
› Institutsangaben Funding The Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic (grant no. AZV NV19-04-00272) and the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic (grant no. MO 1012, Q25) provided financial support to the study.
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Abstract

Background Pineal apoplexy is a rare condition, with unknown incidence and clinical significance. To elucidate this clinical condition, we analyzed our own case series and performed a review of the literature.

Methods We enrolled all patients with a hemorrhagic pineal apoplexy who were referred to our department between January 2000 and January 2020. Hemorrhagic pineal apoplexy was defined as the presence of fluid–fluid levels inside the pineal cyst (PC) on an axial or sagittal magnetic resonance scan. In one patient, after PC apoplexy, we performed a circadian melatonin sampling from peripheral blood to determine the function of the pineal gland. The PubMed database was searched for publications using the terms “pineal” and “apoplexy.”

Results Eight patients were enrolled, of which three patients underwent surgical treatment and five patients were managed conservatively. One patient was tested for circadian melatonin secretion. Results confirmed melatonin secretion with preserved physiologic circadian rhythm.

Our search of the literature led us to 31 studies that comprised 30 patients with apoplectic PC, 9 with apoplectic pineal tumor, and 1 with bleeding into the normal pineal gland. Most patients presented with headache, nausea, and vomiting, less frequently with acute hydrocephalus and gaze palsy. Twenty patients with a PC underwent resection or aspiration. Two patients underwent shunt placement as the only procedure and five received both shunt and surgical removal. Six patients with a PC were observed without surgical treatment. All the nine patients with a pineal tumor were operated on. In indicated cases, four patients received radiation therapy and one received chemotherapy.

Conclusion Clinical significance of hemorrhagic pineal apoplexy ranges from an asymptomatic course to rapid deterioration and death. In patients with mild symptoms, observation is indicated, whereas surgical treatment is reserved for severe cases presenting with obstructive hydrocephalus and includes cerebrospinal fluid diversion, resection of apoplectic pineal lesions, or both.

Keywords

pineal gland - pineal cyst - apoplexy - neurosurgery - melatonin

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. For this type of study, formal consent is not required.




Publikationsverlauf

Eingereicht: 10. Juli 2020

Angenommen: 28. Oktober 2020

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
02. Juni 2021

© 2021. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany

 

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