• Verena Rass, Elisabeth Schoenherr, Bogdan-Andrei Ianosi, Anna Lindner, Mario Kofler, Alois J Schiefecker, Lukas Lenhart, Max Gaasch, Marie-Theres Pertl, Christian F Freyschlag, Bettina Pfausler, Margarete Delazer, Ronny Beer, Claudius Thomé, Astrid Ellen Grams, Christoph Scherfler, and Raimund Helbok.
• Department of Neurology, Neurocritical Care Unit, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstrasse 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria.
• Neurocrit Care. 2020 Apr 1; 32 (2): 492-501.

BackgroundSubarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a devastating disease associated with high mortality and morbidity. Besides neurological sequelae, neuropsychological deficits largely contribute to patients' long-term quality of life. Little is known about the pituitary gland volume (PGV) after SAH compared to healthy referents and the association of PGV with long-term outcome including cognitive function.MethodsSixty consecutive non-traumatic SAH patients admitted to the neurological intensive care unit between 2010 and 2014 were enrolled. 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imagining was performed at baseline (16 days) and 12 months after SAH to measure PGV semi-automatically using the software iPlan Net 3.5.0. PGV was compared to age and sex matched healthy referents. The difference between baseline and 1-year-PGV was classified as increase (> 20 mm3 PGV increase), stable (± 20 mm3), or decrease (> 20 mm3 PGV decrease). In addition, total intracerebral volume was calculated. Neuropsychological testing was applied in 43 SAH patients at 1-year follow up encompassing several domains (executive, attention, memory) and self-assessment (questionnaire for self-perceived deficits in attention [German: FEDA]) of distractibility in mental processes, fatigue and decrease in motivation. Multivariable regression with multivariable generalized linear models was used for comparison of PGVs and for subgroup analysis to evaluate a potential association between PGV and neuropsychological outcome.ResultsPatients were 53 years old (IQR = 44-63) and presented with a median Hunt&Hess grade of 2 (IQR = 1-3). SAH patients had a significantly lower PGV both at baseline (360 ± 19 mm3, p < 0.001) and 1 year (367 ± 18 mm3p < 0.001) as compared to matched referents (mean 505 ± 18 mm3). PGV decreased by 75 ± 8 mm3 in 28 patients, increased by 120 ± 22 mm3 in 22 patients and remained stable in 10 patients at 1-year follow-up. PGV in patients with PGV increase at 12 months was not different to healthy referents (p = 0.062). Low baseline PGV was associated with impaired executive functions at 1 year (adjOR = 8.81, 95%-CI = 1.46-53.10, p = 0.018) and PGV decrease within 1 year was associated with self-perceived worse motivation (FEDA; Wald-statistic = 6.6, df = 1, p = 0.010).ConclusionsOur data indicate significantly lower PGVs following SAH. The association of sustained PGV decrease with impaired neuropsychological long-term outcome warrants further investigations including neuroendocrine hormone measurements.

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