Chronic hypercapnia and radiological changes in the pituitary fossa.

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Abstract
A consecutive series of 10 patients with chronic bronchitis and hypercapnia were studied. All 7 patients with chronic hypercapnia and 1 patient with intermittent hypercapnia showed evidence on skull radiographs of raised intracranial pressure. In 5 male and 3 female chronic bronchitics matched for age and ventilatory impairment, but without hypercapnia, no such radiological abnormalities were shown. The clinical significance pathophysiology of this hitherto unreported finding is discussed. In some cases the chronicity of hypercapnia may be diagnosed from a radiograph of the pituitary fossa.