A Rare Case of Pituitary Apoplexy Secondary to Dengue Fever-induced Thrombocytopenia

Pituitary apoplexy (PA) is an endocrine emergency resulting from hemorrhage or infarction within a pituitary tumor or non-tumorous pituitary gland. The most important predisposing factors for PA are cerebral angiographic procedures, systemic hypertension, surgeries, head injury, coagulopathies, and drugs. Thrombocytopenia is a risk factor for PA. Dengue fever causes thrombocytopenia and there are reported cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever predisposing to PA. But there are no reported cases of dengue fever per se predisposing to PA, and we report such a case in an 85-year-old elderly male who presented with features suggestive of a hypertensive emergency and, on evaluation, was found to have a pituitary incidentaloma and dengue fever. During the hospital course, he developed acute III(rd )nerve palsy and, when evaluated, was found to have PA. He responded well to medical management with steroids and thyroxine. Prompt initiation of treatment is of utmost importance in pituitary apoplexy, as it can result in adverse events, including loss of vision and even death from hemodynamic compromise.