Abstract
Objective
To investigate the thymic-thoracic ratio (TTR) in fetuses of pregnant women with familial
Mediterranean fever (FMF).
Study design
This prospective case-control study was conducted with 43 pregnant women diagnosed
with FMF and 43 gestational age-matched healthy controls. Pregnant women between 28
and 40 weeks who applied for antenatal care were included in the study. Healthy pregnant
women whose age and gestational week matched were defined as the control group.
Results
TTR was significantly lower in the FMF group compared to the control group. The mean
TTR value was 0.34 ± 0.03 in the FMF group and 0.36 ± 0.02 in the control group (p < 0.001).
TTR was significantly lower in those with FMF duration of ten years or more than those
with FMF of less than ten years (p < 0.001). In addition, pregnant women who had an
attack during pregnancy had lower TTR (p < 0.001). TTR was significantly associated
with white blood cell count, neutrophil count, monocyte count, platelet count, mean
platelet volume, C-reactive protein, red cell distribution width, and platelet‑to‑lymphocyte
ratio.
Conclusion
Besides the inflammation during the FMF attacks, the ongoing subclinical inflammation
between the attacks might affect the fetal thymus size. Since TTR is an easily applicable
method, it can be used to evaluate fetal inflammation.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 22, 2023
Accepted:
January 18,
2023
Received in revised form:
January 12,
2023
Received:
December 14,
2022
Identification
Copyright
© 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
