Case report: postpartum hypopituitarism in a patient with sickle cell trait

The authors report a case of hypopituitarism in a 28-year-old woman who appeared to develop this in conjunction with a pregnancy 4 years previously. The patient had clear-cut evidence of secondary hypoadrenalism and secondary hypothyroidism. A magnetic resonance imaging scan revealed a partially empty sella of normal size. The patient had no prior evidence of peripartum hypotension or other obstetrical catastrophe. Her only recognizable risk factor was the presence of sickle cell trait. The authors speculate that her sickle trait predisposed her to develop pituitary infarction during her first pregnancy. The authors also review three previous cases linking sickle cell syndromes with hypopituitarism and suggest that this case further supports the concept that sickle cell syndromes can predispose affected individuals to pituitary infarction and ultimately to subsequent hypopituitarism.