English

Abstract

BACKGROUND Empty Sella is often an incidental finding in brain imaging studies. However, in the recent past, its association with hormonal and intracranial hypertension has been researched by various authors. The main purpose of the present study was to evaluate the MRI features of patients with empty sella presented for routine MRI brain imaging. METHODS This is a single-centre, hospital-based, observational, and retrospective study. MRI brain of 67 patients with empty sella was retrospectively reviewed from January 2012 to October 2020. All patients had been referred to the Department of Radiodiagnosis with clinical suspicion of intracranial pathology. The various manifestations and their complications were evaluated. RESULTS This present study comprised 39 males (58 %) and 28 females (42 %). The most common age group was 41 - 60 years with a mean age of 49 years. The most common presenting symptom was headache (34 %). In MRI brain study, 93 % of the cases of empty sella was an incidental finding. In 24 % of the patients, empty sella was associated with MRI features of intracranial hypertension and 13 % with idiopathic intracranial hypertension. 62.5 % of the patients with intracranial hypertension had complete empty sella compared to 82 % of the patients with no features of intracranial hypertension and had partial empty sella even though the association was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS The significance of the MRI finding of an empty sella turcica can be determined using a combination of clinical and imaging findings. KEY WORDS Empty Sella, MRI, Intracranial Hypertension.