This website is part of the "Nip it in the bud" campaign, an educational program aimed at raising awareness of pituitary tumours and related conditions in South African communities with a view to improve time of referral to tertiary healthcare centers, a necessary step towards achieving a successful therapeutic outcome.
Pituitary tumours comprise 10-15% of primary brain tumours with around 25% detected incidentally1. Peak incidence occurs between the third and sixth decade.
Between 1999 and 2008 An overwhelming majority of patients (94%) in South African hospitals presented with some form of visual disturbance. A common and disturbing issue noted was the fact that patients tended to present very late, often with a history of more than two years of progressively worsening visual acuity.
A significant number of pituitary tumour referrals in our hospitals are from ophthalmology department, having been through optometrists and general practitioners2.
The second most common presentation was headaches (75%). These varied from raised intracranial pressure type headaches to those localized subjectively behind the eyes. These could be attributed to the mass effect and invasion or involvement of pain sensitive structures such as the dura and blood vessels2.
Some of the underlying reasons include patient apathy, social acceptance of visual deterioration as part of the ageing process, lack of resources, especially with patients from rural areas, thus making it difficult to access basic health care facilities and inaccurate diagnosis and late referrals by primary healthcare practitioners to tertiary centers2. It is our objective at PICOMSA to address these challenges in collaboration with other stakeholders in order to improve the quality of care for pituitary patients.
References:
Pituitary tumours comprise 10-15% of primary brain tumours with around 25% detected incidentally1. Peak incidence occurs between the third and sixth decade.
Between 1999 and 2008 An overwhelming majority of patients (94%) in South African hospitals presented with some form of visual disturbance. A common and disturbing issue noted was the fact that patients tended to present very late, often with a history of more than two years of progressively worsening visual acuity.
A significant number of pituitary tumour referrals in our hospitals are from ophthalmology department, having been through optometrists and general practitioners2.
The second most common presentation was headaches (75%). These varied from raised intracranial pressure type headaches to those localized subjectively behind the eyes. These could be attributed to the mass effect and invasion or involvement of pain sensitive structures such as the dura and blood vessels2.
Some of the underlying reasons include patient apathy, social acceptance of visual deterioration as part of the ageing process, lack of resources, especially with patients from rural areas, thus making it difficult to access basic health care facilities and inaccurate diagnosis and late referrals by primary healthcare practitioners to tertiary centers2. It is our objective at PICOMSA to address these challenges in collaboration with other stakeholders in order to improve the quality of care for pituitary patients.
References:
- Kamal Thapar, Edward R Laws. Pituitary Tumours: Functioning and non- functioning, Youmans Neurological Surgery 2004; ch 66: 1170; Elsevier Philadelphia.
- KJ Matshana 2010: An analysis of pituitary tumours retrospective study at Chris Hani Baragwanath and Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg academic hospitals, 1998-2008.
