Background: The aim of this study was to compare fetal thymus
volume in women who delivered at 36 weeks of pregnancy versus those who did
not. Methods: A total of 32
dichorionic-diamniotic twin pregnant women were included in the prospective
cohort study. The fetal thymus volumes were measured in the second trimester for
each fetus using the VOCAL ultrasonography program. The data of women who
experienced preterm labor (delivered at 36 weeks of pregnancy) and the
control group (delivered at 36 weeks of pregnancy) were compared.
Results: The mean thymus volume of each fetus was statistically
significantly lower in preterm delivery cases than in the control group. Mean
fetal thymus volume could be used as a marker for predicting preterm birth in the
study group. The parameter of fetal thymus volume measured in twins at 18–24
weeks can be used as a predictive factor (P 0.001). When the
fetal thymus volume, measured 3-dimensionally by ultrasonography in conjunction
with the VOCAL program, was used as a marker for predicting preterm delivery, the
cut-off value was found to be 0.5245 cm, with 83.3% sensitivity and 85.8%
specificity (AUC 0.905, P 0.001, 95% CI, 0.798–0.930). Conclusion: By predicting preterm delivery via measuring the fetal
thymus volume in twins, physicians can suggest strategies to prevent preterm
delivery at 18–24 weeks of pregnancy. In this way, fetal mortality/morbidity
related to preterm delivery may be prevented.
Hidayet Sal,
Emine Seda Guvendag Guven,
Suleyman Guven. The relationship between fetal thymus volume and preterm birth in dichorionic diamniotic pregnancies. Clin. Exp. Obstet. Gynecol.2021, 48(3), 528–533.
https://doi.org/10.31083/j.ceog.2021.03.2340
EndNote(RIS)
BibTeX
RefMan
Refworks
Model Title
Fig. 1.
Appearance the of fetal thymus in 3 vessel sections on
ultrasonography (aorta, aortic artery; pulm artery, pulmonary artery; svc,
superior vena cava; thymus, fetal thymus).
1 of 4
Share
Copy
Model Title
Share
Back to top
We use cookies on our website to ensure you get the best experience.
Read more about our cookies here