Related Experiment Videos
Radiological behaviour of the thymus in chest infection in the underfives
1Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi.
Insights
In young children, the thymus gland can change size due to stress like infection. This study found that the thymus often shrinks in response to chest infections in children under five.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Radiology
- Thoracic Imaging
- Immunology
Background:
- The thymus gland in children exhibits dynamic radiological changes.
- It is known to respond significantly to stressors like infection and trauma.
- Thymus gland hypertrophy after atrophy is a documented phenomenon.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the thymocardiac ratio in children under five with suspected chest infections.
- To understand the thymus gland's response to infection in early childhood.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of one hundred anteroposterior chest radiographs.
- Focus on children under five years of age with suspected chest infections.
- Determination of the thymocardiac ratio.
Main Results:
- The thymus gland generally decreases in size with age in children under five.
- A frequent observation was thymus gland atrophy as a primary response to infection.
- Radiological appearances of the thymus can be intriguing.
Conclusions:
- In children under five, thymus gland size typically diminishes with age.
- Thymus gland atrophy is a common primary response to chest infection in this age group.
Abstract:
The thymus in the paediatric chest will often give radiological appearances of very intriguing nature. It is known to react dramatically to stress factors such as infection or trauma. Gross hypertrophy following atrophy has been documented in many cases. In this paper the author scrutinizes one hundred anteroposterior chest radiographs of children under the age of five years suspected of having chest infection. Thymocardiac ratio is determined. It is concluded that in children under five years, the thymus generally decreases in size with age and that often the thymus will undergo atrophy as a primary response to infection.