Hasselbalch H, Jeppesen D L, Ersbøll A K, Lisse I M, Nielsen M B
Department of Radiology, Hvidovre Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Acta Radiol. 1997 Jan;38(1):95-8. doi: 10.1080/02841859709171249.
To assess the variation in thymic size in healthy neonates by sonography and to study the possible correlation to clinical variables.
A study was made of 149 healthy term infants, at less than one week of age. The size of the thymus was assessed by sonography as a volume estimate, the thymic index. This index was compared to sex, weight, length, gestational age, and level of perinatal asphyxia of the infant. T-cell subsets (percentages of CD4 and CD8 receptor-positive T-lymphocytes in peripheral blood) were determined in 83 of the infants and compared to the sonographic thymic index.
The thymic index varied between 4 and 29, and was positively correlated to the weight of the infant (p = 0.0003). There was no correlation to sex, length, gestational age or slight perinatal asphyxia. We found no correlation between the size of the thymus and the CD4 percentage, the CD8 percentage, or the CD4/CD8 ratio.
The size of the thymus in healthy neonates as measured by sonography is significantly correlated to the weight of the infant. For a given weight of an infant it is possible to predict the normal range of thymic size.
通过超声检查评估健康新生儿胸腺大小的变化，并研究其与临床变量之间可能存在的相关性。
对149名小于1周龄的健康足月儿进行研究。通过超声检查评估胸腺大小，以体积估计值即胸腺指数来表示。将该指数与婴儿的性别、体重、身长、胎龄及围产期窒息程度进行比较。对其中83名婴儿测定外周血T细胞亚群（CD4和CD8受体阳性T淋巴细胞的百分比），并与超声测得的胸腺指数进行比较。
胸腺指数在4至29之间变化，与婴儿体重呈正相关（p = 0.0003）。与性别、身长、胎龄或轻度围产期窒息无相关性。我们发现胸腺大小与CD4百分比、CD8百分比或CD4/CD8比值之间无相关性。
通过超声测量的健康新生儿胸腺大小与婴儿体重显著相关。对于给定体重的婴儿，可以预测胸腺大小的正常范围。
