Status thymicolymphaticus: real or fake?

Abstract

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden, unexpected death of an infant less than one year of age that remains unexplained after a full investigation. SIDS is the most frequent cause of death of infants between two weeks and one year of age, explaining 35% to 55% of all deaths in this age group. We report a newborn male who died soon after birth. The newborn was cyanotic, bradycardic at first, and then asystolic; without any vesicular murmur, apneic, low amplitude thorax movements, even under conditions of positive pressure ventilation on the endotracheal tube. The microscopic aspect thymus highlighted a corticomedullary ratio quite high in favor of the cortical, rich in lymphocyte population, with the dilated subcapsular sinuses. In this report, we considered that cardiorespiratory failure, which was the immediate cause of death, could have been caused by the thymus hypertrophy. This hypertrophy can be a complication of an intrapartum preexistent condition, most probably of hepatic nature.