Case report: Pancytopenia as a rare presentation of Sheehan’s syndrome

Abstract

Sheehan’s syndrome is a postpartum hypopituitarism state caused by necrosis of the pituitary gland. It is usually the result of severe hypotension or shock caused by massive hemorrhage during or after delivery. Sheehan’s syndrome symptoms are often subtle and hence it is diagnosed late. Herein, we report a case of a 41-year-old woman who developed severe postpartum hemorrhage after childbirth that required a total abdominal hysterectomy to control bleeding at the age of 36 years. Since then, she has progressively developed symptoms of headache, general fatigue, and malaise, and finally presented with pancytopenia for investigations. Anemia is a well-known hematological association with Sheehan’s syndrome while pancytopenia is rarely reported. However, complete recovery of pancytopenia was observed after the treatment. Pancytopenia (due to bone marrow failure to produce cells) is a serious finding in clinical practice that causes significant stress as it may point to a diagnosis of malignancy (mainly leukemia) and other serious disorders. Despite being a rare cause, a high index of suspicion is required from the physicians in women with pancytopenia, in order to look for a possible treatable cause of pancytopenia (like Sheehan's syndrome), if the common causes were excluded.