A RARE CASE OF SHEEHAN'S SYNDROME .

Abstract

Sheehan's syndrome is postpartum hypopituitarism caused by necrosis of the pituitary gland.(1) It is rare complication which occurs in 1 out of every 100,000 births globally and is the most common cause of hypopituitarism in low- or middleincome countries [2, 3]. It is reported that Sheehan's syndrome accounts for 0.5% of all known cases of hypopituitarism in females [4]. The disease is deemed “rare” in industrialized nations, but in developing nations, due to a lack of access to sophisticated medical procedures, skilled professionals, and medical resources, which contributes to a higher prevalence of postpartum hemorrhage and subsequent Sheehan's syndrome, it is said to occur in 5 out of every 100,000 births [5, 6]. The prevalence is much higher in developing countries, with a prevalence as high as 3.1% in a state in India where more than half of the affected individuals had home deliveries [7]. The underlying process leading to Sheehan's syndrome is the infarction of the physiologically enlarged anterior pituitary lobe (due to hyperplasia of prolactin secreting cells as a result of elevated estrogen secretion) and secondary to the compression of the blood vessels supplying the gland by the enlarged gland itself or due to grossly decreased blood.