Acute hypophysitis with pachymeningitis

Abstract

Often the workup to find the causes of common symptoms can lead to unexpected findings, thereby emphasising the need to keep a broad suspicion and continued search for emerging evidence. In this report, we describe the case of an elderly woman in her late 60s without any comorbidities, who presented with new-onset neck stiffness, progressive headache and continuous fever with no other clue that could lead us to a telltale diagnosis, and in whom the diagnostic staircase ultimately led to the diagnosis of IgG4 hypophysitis and pachymeningitis. Only a prompt clinical suspicion and appropriately timed workup can help in revealing such intricate and uncommon diagnosis among the maze of more common differentials having similar manifestations. Especially in such uncommon scenarios, common aetiologies such as tuberculosis should always be kept in the horizon.