Pediatric Thymic Cysts: A Systematic Review of Case Reports | ||
| The Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine | ||
| Article 16, Volume 100, Issue 1, July 2025, Pages 2632-2637 PDF (304.82 K) | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/ejhm.2025.436783 | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Background: Thymic cysts are frequently disregarded in the differential diagnosis of children who arrive with painless neck masses since they make up fewer than 1% of cystic cervical masses. Furthermore, a high index of suspicion is necessary for the identification of mediastinal thymic cysts since they might present with a range of clinical symptoms. Objective: To systematically analyze the cases of pediatric thymic cysts reported in the literature. Patients and methods: A Medline (via PubMed) search was carried out on “Thymic cyst” case reports that were published before February 2023. Search included only reports in children (age 0-18 years) and reports published in English language, excluding cases with HIV. Results: Eighty-four patients from 74 reports (59 males and 25 females) were included in the analysis based on the inclusion criteria. The mean age at diagnosis was 7.06 years. The most commonly reported location was the cervical, followed by cervicomediastinal, mediastinal and subglottic, with a tendency for the left side. Neck swelling was the most frequent presentation. Other manifestations such as chest pain, stridor, and respiratory distress were also reported. Cysts varied in size from 3 cm to 20 cm at their largest dimensions. The vast majority of reported cysts were multilocular. Cysts were often related to the carotid sheath, and contained various types of fluids, with hemorrhagic fluid being the most common. Conclusion: Thymic cysts in children can manifest in a variety of ways. It should be taken into account while making a differential diagnosis for children and babies who have respiratory distress, stridor, chest discomfort, and cystic cervical swellings. Before a child's neck cyst is surgically removed, the existence of a mediastinal component must be verified. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Thymic cyst; Pediatric; Cervical cyst; Mediastinal cyst | ||
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