ABSTRACT
Prolactinomas may present with in pregnancy, only the last three symptoms are discriminatory. Incidence is increasing as refined radiological and surgical techniques have permitted more precise diagnosis of pituitary dysfunction. Various degrees of oedema and fibrosis may be present but no adenoma. Anti-pituitary antibodies have been described and this condition is associated with autoimmune thyroiditis or adrenalitis in 20% of cases. Hyperaldosteronism is found in 0.7% of non-pregnant patients with hypertension, but very few cases of primary hyperaldosteronism have been reported in pregnancy. This is probably due to under-reporting. Phaeochromocytomas may be part of a multiple endocrine neoplasia IIa syndrome and, if diagnosis is confirmed, the patient should be screened for medullary cell carcinoma of the thyroid and parathyroid adenomas. Spironolactone, which is used as a potassium-sparing diuretic in Conn's syndrome outside pregnancy, should be avoided as it may cause feminization of a male fetus because it is an anti-androgen.
