Visual Outcome of Patients with Pituitary Adenomas Following Surgery and Its Contributory Factors at a Tertiary Hospital in Ghana

BACKGROUND: Craniotomy and transphenoidal microsurgery are surgical options for treatment of pituitary adenoma at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital(KBTH). Despite major advances and reported success rates of transphenoidal resection globally, paucity of local data regarding visual outcome of either procedure exists. We evaluated the visual outcome of patient with pituitary adenoma following surgery in a tertiary hospital in Ghana. METHODS: This is a prospective study of 18 of 45 consecutive new patients with pituitary adenoma seen from November 2010 to July 2013 at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital(KBTH), Accra, Ghana. Sixteen (88.9%) of the 18 had surgery by transphenoidal route and 2(11.1%) by craniotomy. All patients had macroadenoma (tumour size >1cm) and histological confirmation of diagnosis. Pre-operative and post-operative visual acuity and its relationship to tumour size and duration of symptoms before diagnosis were evaluated. RESULTS: Data on 18 patients aged 33–60 years, mean (SD) 45.9±8.5, was analysed. Eleven (61.1%) were females. Visual blur, 15(83.3%), and headache,13(72.2%), were predominant presenting complaints. Common neuro-ophthalmic signs included unilateral or bilateral optic atrophy, 17(94.4%), Relative Afferent Pupillary Defect (RAPD) in 8(44.4%) and impaired colour vision in 32 of 36(88.9%) eyes. Preoperatively, 8(22.2%) and 13(36.1%) of 36 eyes were visually impaired or blind respectively. Postoperatively, 6(16.7%) eyes were visually impaired and 17(47.2%) eyes blind. Blindness was associated with late presentation (p<0.005) and larger tumour width (p<0.036). CONCLUSIONS: More than a third of eyes of patients with pituitary adenoma were blind before and after surgery. Blindness was associated with late presentation and larger tumours. Transphenoidal surgery may be beneficial following early diagnosis to avoid irreversible blindness/visual impairment.