Pancytopenia Unveiling a Silent Pituitary Crisis: A Rare Presentation of Sheehan’s Syndrome - Abstract
Sheehan’s syndrome is a type of postpartum hypopituitarism that results from ischemic pituitary necrosis caused by severe obstetric haemorrhage. Pancytopenia generally raises suspicion for hematologic malignancies or marrow failure syndromes rather than endocrine disorders.
However, it is essential to recognize that endocrine pathologies, especially panhypopituitarism, can also lead to pancytopenia due to the complex interplay of multiple hormonal deficiencies leading to bone marrow suppression. Awareness of this rare presentation can help prevent delays in diagnosis and management. Here we report a woman in her late 30’s, fourteen years postpartum, with giddiness, shortness of breath and chronic fatigue who presented in the ER with hypotension and routine blood investigations revealed pancytopenia. On further probing, her obstetric history revealed postpartum haemorrhage
and lactation failure over a decade ago and led to the long workup for Sheehan’s. Hormone replacement with glucocorticoids and levothyroxine led to clinical stabilization and gradual reversal of pancytopenia.