Influence of maternal HIV infection on fetal thymus size
-
Clara L. Gasthaus
,
Ralf Schmitz
Abstract
Objective
To reveal the effect of a maternal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on the fetal thymus size.
Methods
The sonographic fetal thymus size was measured retrospectively in 105 pregnancies with maternal HIV infection and in 615 uncomplicated singleton pregnancies. The anteroposterior thymic and the intrathoracic mediastinal diameter were determined in the three-vessel view and their quotient, the thymic-thoracic ratio (TT ratio), was calculated. The study group was subdivided into three groups by the maternal viral load on the date of ultrasound (<50 cop./mL, 50–1000 cop./mL, >1000 cop./mL). Furthermore, an association between prognostic factors of the HIV infection such as the lymphocyte count, CD4/CD8 ratio, HIV medication and the thymus size, was investigated using correlation analyses.
Results
Fetal thymus size in pregnancies of HIV-positive mothers showed to be noticeably larger than in uncomplicated pregnancies. The mean TT ratio in the HIV-positive group was 0.389 and in the control group 0.345 (P < 0.001). There was no association between any maternal HIV parameter or medication and the size of the thymus gland.
Conclusion
Maternal HIV infection was associated with an increased fetal thymus size. Further consequences of intrauterine HIV exposure for fetal outcome and the development of the immune system of HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) infants must be discussed.
Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
Research funding: None declared.
Employment or leadership: None declared.
Honorarium: None declared.
Competing interests: The funding organization(s) played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.
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©2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- 10.1515/jpm-2020-frontmatter1
- Review
- Delivery room handling of the newborn
- Original Articles – Obstetrics
- Examining the validity of a predictive model for vaginal birth after cesarean
- Correlation between endometrial thickness and perinatal outcome for pregnancies achieved through assisted reproduction technology
- Significance of the routine first-trimester antenatal screening program for aneuploidy in the assessment of the risk of placenta accreta spectrum disorders
- A decade’s experience in primipara, term, singleton, vertex parturients with a sustained low rate of CD
- Survey of alongside midwifery-led care in North Rhine-Westfalia, Germany
- Correlation between aneuploidy pregnancy and the concentration of various hormones and vascular endothelial factor in follicular fluid as well as the number of acquired oocytes
- Bacteriuria in pregnancy varies with the ambiance: a retrospective observational study at a tertiary hospital in Doha, Qatar
- Microarray findings in pregnancies with oligohydramnios – a retrospective cohort study and literature review
- Lifestyle characteristics of parental electronic cigarette and marijuana users: healthy or not?
- Influence of maternal HIV infection on fetal thymus size
- Original Articles – Fetus
- Clinical outcome of prenatally suspected cardiac rhabdomyomas of the fetus
- Original Articles – Newborns
- Prolonged ventilation and postnatal growth of preterm infants
- Letter to the Editor
- Neonatal sepsis associated with Lactobacillus supplementation
Artikel in diesem Heft
- 10.1515/jpm-2020-frontmatter1
- Review
- Delivery room handling of the newborn
- Original Articles – Obstetrics
- Examining the validity of a predictive model for vaginal birth after cesarean
- Correlation between endometrial thickness and perinatal outcome for pregnancies achieved through assisted reproduction technology
- Significance of the routine first-trimester antenatal screening program for aneuploidy in the assessment of the risk of placenta accreta spectrum disorders
- A decade’s experience in primipara, term, singleton, vertex parturients with a sustained low rate of CD
- Survey of alongside midwifery-led care in North Rhine-Westfalia, Germany
- Correlation between aneuploidy pregnancy and the concentration of various hormones and vascular endothelial factor in follicular fluid as well as the number of acquired oocytes
- Bacteriuria in pregnancy varies with the ambiance: a retrospective observational study at a tertiary hospital in Doha, Qatar
- Microarray findings in pregnancies with oligohydramnios – a retrospective cohort study and literature review
- Lifestyle characteristics of parental electronic cigarette and marijuana users: healthy or not?
- Influence of maternal HIV infection on fetal thymus size
- Original Articles – Fetus
- Clinical outcome of prenatally suspected cardiac rhabdomyomas of the fetus
- Original Articles – Newborns
- Prolonged ventilation and postnatal growth of preterm infants
- Letter to the Editor
- Neonatal sepsis associated with Lactobacillus supplementation
