Co-presentation of Acute Sheehan Syndrome with Raised Intracranial Pressure in a Post-partum Lady

Abstract

Sheehan’s syndrome (SS) or necrosis of pituitary gland is a rare complication of severe postpartum hemorrhage. It may cause hypopituitarism immediately or several years later, depending on the degree of tissue destruction. Sheehan’s syndrome though rare is still one of the commonest causes of hypopituitarism in developing countries like ours. The presence of an intercurrent infection and administration of thyroxine exacerbated her corticosteroid insufficiency. Intracranial hypertension (IH) manifested as bilateral optic disc swelling with reduced visual acuity, bilateral sixth nerve palsies, and impaired consciousness. Intracranial hypertension (IH) has been associated with hypocortisolism caused by either primary adrenocortical insufficiency or corticosteroid withdrawal. The author describes a case of a young lady with IH with acute SS who presented on 3rd day postpartum after lower uterine cesarean section with acute severe symptomatic hyponatremia which was complicated by postpartum hemorrhage. The clinical manifestations of IH resolved with corticosteroid replacement.