Correlation of first-trimester thymus size with chromosomal anomalies
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Sarah Kleemann
Abstract
Objectives
The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between fetal thymus size measured during first-trimester screening and chromosomal anomalies.
Methods
This study is a retrospective evaluation, in which the anterior-posterior diameter of the thymus in a midsagittal plane was measured in first-trimester ultrasound between 11+0 and 13+6 weeks of gestation in 168 fetuses with chromosomal anomalies (study group) and 593 healthy fetuses (control group). The included cases were subdivided into six groups: (1) trisomy 21, (2) trisomy 18, (3) trisomy 13, (4) Turner syndrome, (5) triploidy and (6) normal controls. Thymus size measurements were adjusted to the week of gestation, which was determined by ultrasound using crown-rump-length (CRL), by calculating a ratio between CRL and thymus size (CRL-thymus-ratio). Each study group was compared with the control group separately.
Results
Thymus size in fetuses affected by trisomy 18 or trisomy 13 was noticeably smaller compared to the control group (1.4 mm [1.3, 1.5] and 1.3 mm [1.2, 1.4] vs. 1.8 mm [1.6, 2.1]; all p<0.001; respectively). The thymus size of fetuses with trisomy 21 and Turner syndrome did not differ from healthy fetuses. Between the CRL-thymus-ratios of the separate study groups no statistically noticeable differences could be found.
Conclusions
Fetal thymus size appeared to be smaller in pregnancies affected by trisomy 18 and trisomy 13. The predictive value of fetal thymus size in first-trimester screening should be evaluated prospectively.
Acknowledgments
We thank everyone who voluntarily dedicated their time and effort.
Research funding: None declared.
Author contributions: S Kleemann: Data collection, data management, data analysis, manuscript writing. R Koch: Data analysis, manuscript editing. R Schmitz: Conceptualization, data collection, data analysis, manuscript editing. HA Köster: Manuscript editing J Braun: Data collection, manuscript editing. J Steinhard: Data collection, manuscript editing. K Oelmeier: Data collection, manuscript editing. W Klockenbusch: Data collection, Manuscript editing. M Möllers: Conceptualization, data collection, data analysis, manuscript editing. All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.
Informed consent: Informed consent was not obtained from individuals included in this retrospective analysis.
Ethical approval: The research related to human subject use has been complied with all the relevant national regulations, institutional policies and is in accordance the tenets of the Helsinki Declaration, and has been approved by the authors’ Institutional Review Board.
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© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Review
- Neonatal lupus erythematosus – practical guidelines
- Original Articles – Obstetrics
- Optimal timing to screen for asymptomatic bacteriuria during pregnancy: first vs. second trimester
- Amniotic fluid embolism – implementation of international diagnosis criteria and subsequent pregnancy recurrence risk
- COL1A1, COL4A3, TIMP2 and TGFB1 polymorphisms in cervical insufficiency
- Pregnancy and neonatal outcomes of twin pregnancies – the role of maternal age
- Comparison of maternal third trimester hemodynamics between singleton pregnancy and twin pregnancy
- Daily monitoring of vaginal interleukin 6 as a predictor of intraamniotic inflammation after preterm premature rupture of membranes – a new method of sampling studied in a prospective multicenter trial
- Association between the number of pulls and adverse neonatal/maternal outcomes in vacuum-assisted delivery
- Original Articles – Fetus
- The effect of nuchal umbilical cord on fetal cardiac and cerebral circulation-cross-sectional study
- Recognition of facial expression of fetuses by artificial intelligence (AI)
- Correlation of first-trimester thymus size with chromosomal anomalies
- Fetal intracranial structures: differences in size according to sex
- Original Articles – Neonates
- Antenatal care and perinatal outcomes of asylum seeking women and their infants
- Maturation of the cardiac autonomic regulation system, as function of gestational age in a cohort of low risk preterm infants born between 28 and 32 weeks of gestation
- Short Communication
- The impact of transfers from neonatal intensive care to paediatric intensive care
- Letter to the Editor
- Differential microRNA expression in placentas of small-for-gestational age neonates with and without exposure to poor maternal gestational weight gain
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Review
- Neonatal lupus erythematosus – practical guidelines
- Original Articles – Obstetrics
- Optimal timing to screen for asymptomatic bacteriuria during pregnancy: first vs. second trimester
- Amniotic fluid embolism – implementation of international diagnosis criteria and subsequent pregnancy recurrence risk
- COL1A1, COL4A3, TIMP2 and TGFB1 polymorphisms in cervical insufficiency
- Pregnancy and neonatal outcomes of twin pregnancies – the role of maternal age
- Comparison of maternal third trimester hemodynamics between singleton pregnancy and twin pregnancy
- Daily monitoring of vaginal interleukin 6 as a predictor of intraamniotic inflammation after preterm premature rupture of membranes – a new method of sampling studied in a prospective multicenter trial
- Association between the number of pulls and adverse neonatal/maternal outcomes in vacuum-assisted delivery
- Original Articles – Fetus
- The effect of nuchal umbilical cord on fetal cardiac and cerebral circulation-cross-sectional study
- Recognition of facial expression of fetuses by artificial intelligence (AI)
- Correlation of first-trimester thymus size with chromosomal anomalies
- Fetal intracranial structures: differences in size according to sex
- Original Articles – Neonates
- Antenatal care and perinatal outcomes of asylum seeking women and their infants
- Maturation of the cardiac autonomic regulation system, as function of gestational age in a cohort of low risk preterm infants born between 28 and 32 weeks of gestation
- Short Communication
- The impact of transfers from neonatal intensive care to paediatric intensive care
- Letter to the Editor
- Differential microRNA expression in placentas of small-for-gestational age neonates with and without exposure to poor maternal gestational weight gain
