Postpartum Hypophysitis: A Case Report and a Literature Review

Abstract

Hypophysitis is a rare pituitary gland disease primarily seen in females of reproductive age. Patients can present with various non-specific symptoms, which makes diagnosis challenging. Appropriate endocrine workup supplemented with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) helps establish a diagnosis. We present a case of a 22-year-old postpartum female who came with nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Global endocrine insufficiency was seen in the laboratory workup, and an MRI confirmed the diagnosis of hypophysitis. She was treated with steroid and thyroid hormone supplementation.

Keywords: adrenal insufficiency; auto-immune hypophysitis; hypopitutarism; hypothyroidism; postpartum.

Figure 1. Brain MRI, sagittal section. White arrows: pituitary gland; blue arrows: pituitary stalk. MRI shows a slightly heterogeneous enhancement of the pituitary gland that measured 8 mm and slight thickening of the pituitary stalk inferiorly, features suggestive of hypophysitis.

MRI, magnetic resonance imaging