Empty sella syndrome: A report of 33 cases

Objective To analyze the clinical data about patients with empty sella syndrome（ESS） in an attempt to improve our understanding of ESS. Methods Clinical data about 33 ESS patients admitted to our hospital from January 2000 to March 2009 were retrospectively analyzed. Results Of the 33 patients at the aged 48±16 years, 7 were males and 26 females. The median duration of the disease was 4.5 years. Primary ESS and secondary ESS were found in 30（90.1%） and 3（9.9%） patients, respectively. ESS accompanying hypertension, cerebral infarction, diabetes was found in 13（39.3%）, 12（36.3%）, and 5（15.2%） patients, respectively. Multiple pregnancy, obesity, dizziness, headache, impaired vision, pituitary crisis, secondary hypothyroidism, secondary hypogonadism, and hyperprolactinemia were diagnosed in 19（57.6%）, 18（54.5%）, 8（24.2%）, 5（15.2%）, 6（18.2%）, 1（3%）, 5（15.2%）, 4（12.1%）, and 3（9.1%） patients, respectively. The diagnosis depended on CT. MRI was the first choice with an accurate of 100%. Conclusion Patients with ESS accompanying hypoadenia should be treated with hormones as early as possible and followed up for a long time in order to prevent pituitary crisis.