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Pituitary apoplexy during general anesthesia in beach chair position for shoulder joint arthroplasty

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Abstract

Pituitary apoplexy is a rare but potentially life-threatening clinical syndrome caused by the sudden enlargement of pituitary adenoma secondary to infarction and/or hemorrhage. It may be the first presentation of previously undiagnosed pituitary adenoma. Although various precipitating factors of pituitary apoplexy are indicated, the pathogenesis remains unknown. In this report, we describe for the first time a case of pituitary apoplexy developed explicitly during general anesthesia supplemented with interscalene brachial plexus block in beach chair or barbershop position for shoulder joint arthroplasty.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr. Tomoharu Tanaka at Kyoto University Hospital for useful discussions.

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Author notes

  1. Tokito Koga

    Present address: Department of Anesthesia, Saku Central Hospital, Saku, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesia, Kyoto University Hospital, 54 Shogoin-Kawaracho, Sakyo-Ku, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan

    Tokito Koga, Mariko Miyao, Masami Sato, Kiichi Hirota, Masahiro Kakuyama, Hiroko Tanabe & Kazuhiko Fukuda

  2. Day Surgery Unit, Kyoto University Hospital, Sakyo-Ku, Kyoto, Japan

    Kiichi Hirota

Authors
  1. Tokito Koga
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  2. Mariko Miyao
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  3. Masami Sato
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  4. Kiichi Hirota
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  5. Masahiro Kakuyama
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  6. Hiroko Tanabe
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  7. Kazuhiko Fukuda
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kiichi Hirota.

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Koga, T., Miyao, M., Sato, M. et al. Pituitary apoplexy during general anesthesia in beach chair position for shoulder joint arthroplasty. J Anesth 24, 476–478 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00540-010-0929-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00540-010-0929-y

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