Sheehan's Syndrome in a Patient With Factor XI Deficiency

Sheehan's syndrome (SS) is a condition characterized by panhypopituitarism that generally occurs after an episode of postpartum bleeding. There are certain hypotheses regarding the development of SS in the postpartum period. Coagulation factor abnormalities have been reported to be associated with SS. Associated hypothyroidism and hypocortisolism have been found to cause coagulation abnormalities. After the correction of the hypothyroidism and hypocortisolism, there is a gradual correction of the coagulation abnormality. In our case, a middle-aged woman presented with recurrent episodes of hospital admission because of generalized weakness and fever. She was found to have a biochemistry profile suggestive of hypopituitarism with preserved gonadal function. Her hemogram was normal, but the coagulogram showed a prolongation of activated partial thromboplastin time with a near-normal prothrombin time. She was evaluated and found to have factor XI deficiency. In the background of excessive vaginal bleeding and hypopituitarism, a diagnosis of SS was made. The presence of factor XI deficiency may have led to excessive bleeding and the development of SS. To the best of our knowledge, there is no reported association of factor XI deficiency with SS in the literature, and this is the first reported case.