Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31533948›Full record

ArticleBMJ case reports2019

Challenges in diagnosing ectopic thymus tissue in children.

Laura Claes, Amélie Dendooven, Jaques van Heerden

Open access · greenAbstract readCase Reports
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ case reports, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 38% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Ectopic cervical thymus in a child: A rare neck mass case report.International journal of surgery case reports · 2025
    Article
  2. A Hidden Rarity: Diagnosing and Managing Cervical Thymic Cysts in Pediatric Patients.Indian journal of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery : official publication of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Laura ClaesPaediatrics, Antwerp University Hospital, University of Antwerp, Edegem, Belgium.
Amélie DendoovenDepartment of Pathology, Antwerp University Hospital, University of Antwerp, Edegem, Belgium.
Jaques van HeerdenPaediatrics, Antwerp University Hospital, University of Antwerp, Edegem, Belgium.
University of Antwerp · BEAntwerp University Hospital · BE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The presentation of a fast-growing cervical mass necessitates prompt attention due to risk of the mass effect on vital structures and requires preferential screening for infections, bleeding and malignancies in an extensive list of differential diagnoses. This case report describes a 4.5-year-old boy with a fast-growing, unilateral lesion in the neck, with clinical features in keeping with malignant characteristics. Surgical excision with pathocytological examination revealed an exceptional diagnosis of haemorrhage in an ectopic cervical thymic cyst. Thymic cysts are a rare cause of unilateral masses in the neck, usually presenting as an asymptomatic, painless, slow-growing or stable mass anywhere along the thymopharyngeal duct. Spontaneous haemorrhages in thymic tissue can occur, often due to coagulation defects. Treatment of symptomatic thymic cysts is based on surgical excision. Partial resection of the thymus should be encouraged if possible, since clinical consequences of removing all thymic tissue in children are still unclear.

Indexed as

Thymus GlandBiopsyChild, PreschoolChoristomaDiagnosis, DifferentialHumansLymphatic DiseasesMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMediastinal CystPrecancerous Conditionscongenital disordersimmunologypaediatric oncologypaediatrics

Identifiers

PMID31533948
PMCPMC6754650
OpenAlexW2974288766

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.