Endocrinology Unit, Department of Endocrinology, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, Sfax; Tunisia.
Research Article
World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2021, 11(02), 124-129
Received on 04 July 2021; revised on 09 August 2021; accepted on 11 August 2021
Introduction: The term primary empty sella (PES) makes reference to the herniation of the subarachnoid space within the sella turcica in patients with no history of pituitary tumor, surgery or radiotherapy.
Materials and Methods: We studied 36 patients; 27 females and 9 males. The mean age at diagnosis was 50, 4 years [21-80 years]. Most diagnoses were made by magnetic resonance imaging (n = 32). The anterior pituitary function was evaluated by basal hormonal measurements. Then, we had compared two groups of patients: G1(n=17), who had a pituitary disorder, and G2 (n=10), patients without hormonal disease, in order to determine risk factors for endocrine dysregulation in PES.
Results: The reasons for ordering pituitary scans were: headaches (65%), visual disturbances (32%) and neurological symptoms in 8% of cases. Sixty-six point five per cent of women were multiparous. Diabetes, obesity and hypertension were found in 19.45 %, 11 % and 19.45 % of the studied population respectively. Hyperprolactinemia was present in 17.24 % of patients. Fifty-five percent of our patients had some degree of hypopituitarism. We didn’t find any correlation in our study, between pituitary insufficiency and age, gender, weight, parity nor post-partum hemorrhage. Failure of lactation was significantly associated with a hormonal disorder. On the other hand, headache was negatively correlated with hormonal effects in PES.
Conclusion: PES was most commonly found in middle-aged multiparous women. In most patients, PES is a heterogeneous condition that ranges from hypopituitarism to various degrees of isolated GH deficiency, and which needs careful endocrine assessment, treatment and follow-up.
Empty Sella; Primary; Sella turcica; Hypopituitarism
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Marwa Chiboub, Fatma Mnif, Boubaker Ben Miloud, Dhouha Ben Salah, Nabila Rekik and Mohamed Abid. The primary empty Sella: An endocrine study on 36 cases. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2021, 11(2), 124-129. Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2021.11.2.0371