PINEAL GLAND CYSTS : EXPERIENCES FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF PEDIATRICS AT CLINICAL HOSPITAL CENTER SPLIT

Cilj istraživanja: Utvrditi najčešće simptome i dijagnoze kojima se prezentiraju djeca i adolescenti dijagnosticirani s cistom pinealne žlijezde, promotriti raspodjelu veličina cisti, koliko je pregleda potrebno napraviti da bi se ona dijagnosticirala, koliko terapije primaju pacijenti s tom dijagnozom te je li moguće pronaći sličnosti u psihičkom profilu pacijenata. Ispitanici i postupci: Istraživanje je provedeno na uzorku od 79 pacijenata dijagnosticiranih s cistom pinealne žlijezde na Klinici za dječje bolesti KBC-a Split u razdoblju od siječnja 2006. g. do prosinca 2016. godine. 59 pacijenata bilo je hospitalizirano, a 20 ih je obrađivano u vidu redovitih kontrola u dnevnoj bolnici. Rezultati: Od 79 pacijenata uključenih u istraživanje 59,5% ispitanika imalo je veličinu ciste u rasponu od 0,51 do 1,0 cm. 49 od 79 pacijenata bilo je hospitalizirano te se pratio broj učinjenih pretraga do dijagnosticiranja ciste pinealne žlijezde. Medijan je 10 pretraga, a za najveći broj pacijenata bilo je potrebno 6 pretraga (16,3%). Najveći broj pacijenata ne uzima nikakvu terapiju (44,3%), dok jedan lijek u kroničnoj terapiji koristi 29,1% ispitanika. Najčešći simptom koji se povezuje s cistom pinealne žlijezde je glavobolja (21,5%), potom slabost (12,6%). Najčešća popratna dijagnoza cisti pinealne žlijezde je epilepsija (27,8%), potom psihička izmijenjenost (19%), glavobolja (17,7%), sklonost atopiji (11,4%) i pretilost (10,1%). Nije utvrđena sličnost u psihičkom profilu pacijenata zbog malog broja ispitanika. Zaključak: Ovo je istraživanje potvrdilo postojanje određenih simptoma poput glavobolje i slabosti te dijagnoza poput epilepsije u vidu potencijalnih poveznica s dijagnosticiranjem ciste pinealne žlijezde. S obzirom da je ovo prvo istraživanje u Republici Hrvatskoj koje proučava simptomatologiju pinealnih cisti te veličinu, dijagnoze, broj pretraga i količinu kronične terapije na populaciji do 18 godina, bilo bi ga poželjno ponoviti na većem uzorku koji bi obuhvatio pacijente više različitih bolnica jer je naš uzorak unutar 10 godina bio premalen za donošenje statistički značajnih rezultata. Takvi bi rezultati uvelike ubrzali proces dijagnosticiranja ciste, a samim time i skratili vrijeme hospitalizacije, smanjili broj učinjenih pretraga i dodatnu potrošnju sredstava u sustavu.Objectives: To determine the most common diagnoses and symptoms in population of patients that have pineal gland cyst and to observe the size of the cyst, as well as how many medical examinations are needed to diagnose it, how many different medications do patients receive in long-term treatment and, whether it is possible to find similarities in the patient's psychic profile. Respondents and procedures: The study was conducted on a sample of 79 patients diagnosed with pineal gland cyst at the Department of Pediatrics at University Hospital Split in the period from January 2006 to December 2016. 59 patients were hospitalized and 20 received checkups on a regular basis in the day hospital. Results: Out of 79 patients involved in the study, 59,5% of subjects had a cyst that ranges in size from 0,51 to 1,0 cm. 49 out of 79 patients were hospitalized and we kept record of the number of medical examinations done before diagnosing pineal gland cyst. The median is 10 tests and the largest number of patients needed 6 examinations (16,3%). The largest number of patients did not take any therapy (44,3%), whereas 29,1% of patients take one drug in chronic therapy. The most common symptoms associated with the pineal gland cyst are headache (21,5%) and weakness (12,6%). The most common diagnosis that patients with pineal gland cyst have are epilepsy (27,8%), change of psychic status (19%), headache (17,7%), tendency to atopy (11,4%) and obesity (10,1%). Conclusion: The study confirmed the existence of certain symptoms such as headache and weaknesses, as well as diagnoses such as epilepsy, as potentially being related to pineal gland cysts. Since this is the first research that investigates symptoms of the pineal cysts, diagnosis, number of examinations and amount of chronic therapy, that has ever been conducted in population younger than 18 years, it would be desirable to repeat it on a larger number of patients, probably in several different hospitals in Croatia. Our sample within 10 years was too small to get statistically significant results. These results would accelerate the process of diagnosing cysts and therefore shorten the time of hospitalization, reduce the number of examinations and reduce healthcare costs